By Jonathan Hindolo Kurabu
In an effort to ensure food sufficiency and management, the Movement towards Peace and Development Agency-Sierra Leone (MoPADA-SL) has trained over 40 women farmers drawn from 40 project communities in Yawei, Peje Bongre, Peje West, and Njaluahun Chiefdoms in Kailahun District on crop cultivation and nutritional management.
The three days training tagged “Women-Led Community Extension Volunteers Training on Proper Cultivation and Management of Nutrition-Sensitive Crops’’ which was held in Bonumbu Town, Peje West Chiefdom, commenced on the 18th of July and ended on the 20th of July 2022.
The purpose of the training according to the Programme Manager, Livelihoods and Food Security, MoPADA -SL, Bob Amos Patricks was to build the capacity of women farmers in proper cultivation and management of nutrition-sensitive crops to enhance proper food intake and dietary diversity among local food recipes.
Lead Facilitator who also doubles as the Block Extension Supervisor, Ministry of Agriculture Abu Mohamed Momoh stressed the importance of the training, putting into perspective the high rate of malnutrition in Kailahun District and also stressed the need for women to eat what they grow unlike selling them whilst their children remain malnourished.
The training among others covered crop diversification, proper dietary intake, and leadership, and financial prudence, mediation among conflicting parties, empowerment, transparency, and accountability.
One of the beneficiaries, Gbessay Abibu applauds MoPADA-SL for the eye opener and skills transfer. She thanked the Embassy of Ireland in Sierra Leone for the support and promised on behalf of her colleagues to live up to expectations and to use the project items for their intended purposes.
The three days training on proper cultivation and management of nutrition-sensitive crops is an offspring of the 12 (Twelve) months Promoting Livelihood Agriculture, Nutrition and Natural Resource Management (PLANN PROJECT) for 4 (four) Chiefdoms in Kailahun District targeting 1,200 beneficiaries.
The PLANN Project seeks to achieve diversified food production, yielding improved nutritional status and livelihood for targeted communities, improved knowledge on nutrition, mother & childcare as well as hygiene and basic sanitation practices, and breakdown of gender-specific barriers among others.
Movement Towards Peace and Development Agency-Sierra Leone (MoPADA-SL) is a non-Governmental Organization in Sierra Leone that is geared towards poverty alleviation, rural development, gender mainstreaming, and women’s empowerment to name but a few.
Accordingly, the 2020 Comprehensive Food Security and Vulnerability Analysis Report, ranks Kailahun district as one of the most food insecure districts in Sierra Leone.
Copyright © 2022 Politico Online (25/07/22)
