By Francis H. Murray
Farmers in Makpele and Sahn Malen chiefdoms in Pujehun District and Upper and Lower Banta chiefdoms in Moyamba District have benefited from the second tranche cash payment by the World Food Programme (WFP).
The project aims at building the capacities of institutions that promote peace as well as create multi stakeholder dialogue platforms for peaceful relations between communities, government and private investors.
About 1,854 participants who were engaged in agricultural asset creation activities received a total of One million, six hundred and ninety-six thousand leones (Le 1, 696, 000) each for a total period of 60 working days, representing 9, 270 beneficiaries.
The activities are being implemented under the Peace Building Project (PBF) with the theme ‘‘Mitigating Localized resource-based conflicts and increasing community resilience.’’
WFP Representative and Country Director, Housainou Taal, said that land degradation, non-inclusive processes of awarding and managing natural resource extraction, marginalization of women and youth, loss of livelihoods are among the many issues underlying conflicts between communities, government and private companies in the southern region of Sierra Leone.
“The project is supposed to address a variety of issues, one of them being resolving conflicts, enhancing peaceful cohesion amongst community members and other sectors and increasing community resilience through agricultural asset creation activities that would support long term food security. Farmers receive cash payments for developing and cultivating a certain hectare of inland valley swamp to ensure year-round cultivation of rice and vegetables,” Housainou stated.
The project is co-implemented by the United Nations Development Programme and the office of the Vice President of Sierra Leone.
District offices of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Security (MAFFS) in Moyamba and Pujehun are providing technical and supervisory support in the rehabilitation and development of Inland Valley Swamps in 31 supported communities.
Mariama Kawa, a mother of five children at Pewa Village, Makpele chiefdom, explained how much difference the cash support has made in her life.
“My husband and I could only have dreamt of having this much money at a time. The money I received contributed to reducing tensions at home and enabled my family to have enough food to eat. The first money I received enabled me to grow groundnut and to cultivate my personal swamp,” said Mariama.
The project also covers seed improvement in the Moyamba & Pujehun district offices, as well as agricultural tools support and training in improved farming techniques provided by trained community youth contractors.
Alhaji Massaquoi, another beneficiary, recounted the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their food security situation and livelihood.
“This support has come at a time when the COVID-19 lockdowns and movement restrictions badly affected our food situation as the cost of food items skyrocketed. What makes this more serious is the hunger period which makes every penny count. Our situation could have been far worse without this cash payment,” he noted.
The beneficiaries also received technical and vocational training to enable local women and youths benefit from company employment opportunities.
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