By Saio Marah
Representatives from Njala University College (NUC) are currently in South Africa, participating in a joint project on Artificial Insemination.
The three-month scientific fellowship is courtesy of the Agricultural Research Council, Biotechnology Platform (ARC-BTP), and is aimed at boosting livestock productivity in Sierra Leone.
According to a press statement from the Public Relations Department of NUC, the training which includes scientific visitations is conducted by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
It is being held in the city of Pretoria and is geared toward helping the animal science department increase milk and meat production of the local N’dama cattle with superior Cross-Breed cattle through nuclear-deprived techniques.
The statement also noted that the training will analyse all the grasses and fodder crops, leading to the cultivation and production of hay and silage, to increase ruminant feed production in the country. It is hoped it will eventually reduce crop and animal conflict, as milking cows will be intensively kept.
The focus is on Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) which is extracted from biological samples such as blood and hair, generation of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms using the illumine Genotyping Platforms, and data quality control.
It is also said to include downstream analysis and interpretation, and that the Fellows will learn the most up-to-date techniques of animal molecular breeding.
The team from Njala that left Sierra Leone on the 1st of September this year consists of the Project’s Principal Investigator and Head of the Animal Science Department, Professor Roland Suluku, Research, and Teaching Assistant, Senator Moinina Nelpheson Kallon, and a Senior Laboratory Technician, Watta T. Bundu.
Prof. Suluku highlighted the significance of the trip, noting that it will give him the administrative and scientific knowledge he needs to implement the project successfully.
He said it will also increase protein intake (meat and milk consumption) and decrease rice consumption in the country.
Senator Moinina Nelphson Kallon, one of Sierra Leone’s youngest specialists in Animal Breeding and Genetics, described the opportunity as a blessing and a test of his expertise to transform his theoretical and existing breeding skills to improve the precious animal genetic resource of Sierra Leone.
The three scientists were reportedly appointed by the IAEA on the recommendation of the Government of Sierra Leone.
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