SLeSCA Engages UN & INGOs On Certification Process

By SLeSCA Communication Unit

At a meeting held at the conference room of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security on Thursday 23rd March 2023, the Executive Director of the Sierra Leone Seed Certification Agency (SLeSCA), Dr. Robert Chakanda, told participants that the reason for holding this meeting is to discuss the role of UN agencies and INGOs dealing with seed, and how they can ensure that the right procedures are followed, especially with respect to the awarding of contracts for the supply of seed to farmers. Present at the meeting were the Permanent Secretary of the MAF, Andrew Sorie, Chairman of the Board of Directors of SLeSCA, Prof. Abu Sesay, representatives of the UN Agencies and INGOs, staff of SLeSCA, Principal Njala University, Prof. Bashiru Koroma.

In his welcome statement, the Permanent Secretary, Andrew Sorie, said that the setting up of the agency is to address the pro-poor situation due to the continuous drop in yield due to poor seed quality. Thus, the agency is meant to break the poor cycle of farmers, and in doing so, established specialized agencies to deal with seed and fertilizers. It is against this backdrop that the Sierra Leone Seed Certification Agency was established. Farmers, he furthered had a problem with the sector, as there were mixed up seeds, and this brought idea for the establishment of SLeSCA, to look at the seed health, adding that the cooperation of all is important, especially in cases of issuing contracts to people for procurement of seed. He told the audience that they now have all the respective procedures for the certification and supply of quality seed. He also warned partners that there are all sorts of people posing as seed dealers in the country, who know nothing about seed, and called on partners to look at the data base of the agency to see those who are certified seed dealers in the country, and admonished tem to support the transformation of the seed sector with their cooperation.

In his opening remarks, Chairman of the occasion, Dr. Robert Chakanda, Executive Director of SLeSCA, expressed appreciation to all present, furthering that working with seed has never been an easy thing. He recalled the ad hoc system that had existed prior to the establishment of the agency, adding that all sorts of people, including building contractors were part of seed importation into the country. These had no knowledge about seed, and therefore imported seed from anywhere. He recalled that when President Bio took over the reins of governance, he questioned why Sierra Leone was importing rice seed from a desert country like Burkina Faso, and this was the reason for the decision to put an end to importation of rice seed, and through conversation with him and other stakeholders, the establishment of the SLeSCA was born, and as a seed expert with over 30-years’ experience in the sector, His Excellency decided to put him where he would deliver on his ambition. Today, he said with pride, that the country is able to produce its own seed, disclosing that last year, the government did not import rice seed, and all that was grown was locally grown. He expressed hope that the same will be repeated this year too.

Making his own contribution, the Principal Njala University, Prof. Bashiru Koroma, said that the agency is on the right path, furthering that they have trained youths on community farming, and that Njala University is working in the communities, where they have trained some 600 youths, with the target of 1000 youths. Njala     University, he went on, is doing a lot of research, and its Department of Crop Science is ready to produce more rice varieties.

In his presentation, the ED told the audience that there was a semblance of seed system existing prior to the war, but it was not organized, and this was disrupted by the war, leading to total dependence of farmers on donor support. Thus, the function of the agency is to deal with all aspects of seed operations in the country, including visiting farms, registering growers and dealers, issuing import and export licenses, making field trips, and inspecting shops of dealers to ensure that the necessary condition for the storage of seed are maintained. All these efforts are geared towards achieving food security, he stressed. Food security, the ED said, demands seed security. He went on to describe the administrative structure of the agency, adding that though other seeds are imported, but rice seed is not imported, as this is the government’s policy shift geared towards ensuring that Sierra Leone produces its own rice seed. Dr. Chakanda maintained that there over 200 seed actors in the country, but that the agency observed that the implementation was weak. Thus, a list has been compiled of all seed sector actors. The agency has recognized and established partnerships with seed companies, conducted training of staff and farmers, embarked on field activities, and is proud to note that over 900 metric tons of rice seed has been tested, adding that currently there is the construction of a big seed lab at 91. The agency has reduced the seed vendor list, and is hopeful that after this engagement, all development partners and the agency will speak with one voice, especially now that they know the scope that the agency is operating on, as a result, he is expecting partners to comply with the procedures of the agency. He explained that though seed is often imported via containers, these have a negative effect on the quality of the seed, as it interferes with the genetic materials of the seed, as shipment of these seed take weeks on the high seas in unfavorable conditions, including the temperature.

He informed that there is now the certification of imported seed and all seed supplied to farmers, and INGOs should be mindful of this requirement, adding that each bag will have a tag on it with the certificate, thereby making it easy to identify the grower or dealer of the seed, in the event of problems with the seed.

The meeting was climaxed by a question and answer session.