Dr. Veronica Sesay Calls For Quality Seed Testing For Food Security

By Edwina Sia Janga

Sierra Leone’s only female seed analyst, Dr. Jariatu Veronica Sesay, senior seed analyst for SLeSCA, in an exclusive interview with this medium, said that as President Bio has focused on the development of agriculture to ensure that the country is able to feed itself, quality seed is an important requirement for good agricultural yield.

Madam Veronica Sesay stressed that seed is the backbone to any agricultural yield, and called on farmers in the country to bring their seeds to the Sierra Leone Seed Certification Agency (SLeSCA) for testing and advice on the quality of the seed. She furthered that the agency has a laboratory that tests seeds to determine their quality, and advises farmers as to the quality of the seed. She maintained that for any meaningful agricultural development to take place, the quality of the seed is very important, and that is why SLeSCA was set up, to ensure that the seed that farmers use to grow their crops are of good quality and will enhance their yield.

Madam Veronica Sesay encouraged farmers to take advantage of this opportunity to produce better quality food stuffs and get better yield. She disclosed that not all seeds that are used by farmers are up to the required quality, and this has been the reason for the low yield that they get, but if they come to the agency and get their seed tested by the SLeSCA technicians, they will know about the type of seed to use and how that will improve their yield, which will in turn mean more yield, better quality and increase in sales.

She encouraged farmers to take advantage of the President’s declaration that he is going to focus on the development of agriculture so that the country can feed itself. She furthered that the clarion call of President Bio to focus on the development of agriculture is the way to go, if the country is to feed itself, and the establishment of SLeSCA is in line with this aspiration and vision.  She stressed that without viable seed, there will be no better yield, adding that there are two different types of seed, the grain, which is for domestic consumption, but with the other seed, it is what is used to increase yield.  She furthered that even with cassava, there are varieties, and often these are plagued by disease, but with testing, they will be able to get better yield. As a tissue expert, she has been able to advice farmers on the how to address some of the seed that are plagued by disease.

 

Madam Veronica Sesay has been in the seed sector for some 15 years, working at Njala, and is now at SLeSCA to help Sierra Leonean farmers produce better quality crops. She is the only female seed analyst in the country, and has admonished other women to come on-board and undertake courses that will make them also seed analysts, as this sector is vital for the development of agriculture. She noted that not all seeds are good, but after testing of the quality of seed, they will be able to advise the farmers about the quality and type of seed to grow, so that they will get more yield and make money to take care of their families.

 

 

She called on other women to join farmers to enhance the development of agriculture, and concluded that with the help of SLeSCA, farmers will be able to produce more food and make money, and provide enough food to feed the country. SLeSCA, she stressed, is open to everyone, and urged farmers to come with the seed they want to use so that they will be advised on the quality and how they will get better yield. She expressed appreciation to the agency for bringing her into the limelight and to be able to make her own contribution to the development of agriculture in the country.