No Seed Importation in 2022

By Edwina Sia Janga

The Executive Director of the Sierra Leone Seed Certification Agency (SLeSCA) Dr. Robert Chakanda has said that the 2022 World Food Day celebration is a time for countries around the world to reflect on global food security, while locally it is time to look into the efforts made in addressing food security and all other food issues.

The accredited FAO Seed Scientist in the Mano River Union was speaking during the celebration of World Food Day in Kabala, Koinadugu District, a celebration which was graced by President Julius Maada Bio.

He expressed joy that President Bio decided to celebrate this year’s World Food Day in Koinadugu.

The progress made so far by SLeSCA did not go unnoticed by President Bio, who, during the celebration, said that seed security is the only way to achieve food security. He commended SLeSCA for their exemplary work in boosting agriculture across the country, as well as for the rapid development in the seed sector which has led to developments in the drive to achieve food security.

The Executive Director further noted that the day is very important, as it enables Sierra Leone to assess how far we have come and what should be done to further improve things.

He stressed that one cannot talk about food security without talking about seed security, as it is the central part of food security. With good quality seed, the yield will increase and citizens will be able to get better food for their livelihood. He noted that there are different types of seeds, and SLeSCA has been doing a lot to transform this sector.

“The SLeSCA now is not the previous agency, but is now very active in building the sector, I can authoritatively say that this year, no seed was imported by the government. This is as a result of the shift in government policy to ensure that we produce our own seed,” he said.

Dr. Chakanda highlighted the insecurity in Burkina Faso, stating that prior to the current operations of SLeSCA, seeds were imported from Burkina Faso, and if this had continued, the current situation in that country would not have allowed farmers to get seeds, and this would have been a crisis in the agriculture sector.

But with the work of SLeSCA, they are now producing seed that is being used by farmers to grow their crops.

“Farmers do not have anything to worry about when it comes to accessing seed, because we are now producing quality seeds for farmers,” Dr Chakanda said.

 SLeSCA, he went on, is far more advanced than before, and is now a formidable force in the sector, ensuring that the country produces its own seed.

The seed expert and ED of the agency noted that without seed there will be no agriculture, and when one talks about food security, seed security is an essential element, as any good yield depends on the quality of seed used in agriculture.

He also expressed happiness that many farmers were at the ceremony and were there with their respective products to showcase the amount of food the country can boast of. Dr Chakanda highlighted some of the achievements of the agency, which include:

No government importation of seeds in 2022, a cut down on seed vendors from 250 to 21, the conduct of registration of seed actors, identification of key seed producers and the establishment of seed shops in all districts among others.

His message to the nation is that we should nurture all our seeds locally, adding that though it is not bad to import seed, the government’s new policy is that it will not import seed any longer.

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