FAO Sierra Leone Newsletter January - June 2018, issue #1 Issues FAO constructs fishponds and poultry houses in Kono district - Page 2 FAO provides solar refrigerators for preserving livestock vaccines - Page 3 Handling animal health issues with inadequate equipment and personnel - Page 4-6 FAO capacitates advocates for women’s equality in customary land rights - Page 6-7 Empowering farmers to increase production Page 8-9 Minimizing boundary disputes and promoting transparency in land ownership - Page 10-11 FAO supports Sierra Leone to combat the spread of Fall Army Warm - Page 11 Aligning Sierra Leone’s Forestry Act with recent statutory instruments - Page 12 ©FAO/Adamu Sanidanya New arrivals - Page 12 FAO constructs fishponds and poultry houses in Kono district ©FAO/Keifa Jaward One of the fishponds under construction in Kono district The Food and Agriculture Or- Sierra Leone and focuses on Both supports are expected to ganization of the United Na- two broad, interlinked inter- benefit 1,200 youths, includ- tions (FAO) in partnership vention areas that aim to en- ing women. Since the birds with the Ministry of Agricul- hance sustainable, inclusive were stocked, each poultry ture and Forestry and the governance of natural re- house is producing on an av- Ministry of Fisheries and Ma- sources as well as diversifica- erage 12 dozens of eggs on a rine Resources have con- tion of sustainable livelihood daily basis. structed fishponds and poul- opportunities in one of the The programme has also try houses across the 14 most mineral-rich, but least trained 16 poultry farmers on chiefdoms in Kono district. developed areas in the coun- the general management of The 24 earthen fishponds and try. poultry farming and 48 eight poultry houses were Each of the earthen fishponds youths in basic fishpond man- constructed and stocked by was stocked with 800 finger- agement. The trainees are the SDG Fund project lings of Tilapia and each of expected to replicate the “Enabling Sustainable Liveli- the poultry house was training to their group mem- hoods through Improved Nat- stocked with 500 birds at 23 bers (beneficiary fish and ural Resource Governance weeks old. All sites have poultry farmers) so that they and Economic Diversification been provided with will all have general in the Kono District, Sierra feeds. The activities are in knowledge on the manage- Leone.” line with the project’s ex- ment of fishponds and poul- The programme is imple- pected outcome, to improve try. mented in the framework of a livelihoods through diversi- The project has also provided a multi-purpose feed milling UN multi-agency Area-Based fied and inclusive economic machine and a 40kva genera- Development (ABD) approach opportunities. tor that will be primarily meant for the production of in the Kono district, eastern fish and poultry feed in the district. FAO Sierra Leone Newsletter - 2 FAO provides solar refrigerators for pre- serving livestock vaccines The FAO component of the Global Agriculture Food Se- curity Programme (GAFSP) donated solar operated re- frigerator to Agribusiness Centres (ABCs) for vaccine storage and preservation. The symbolic distribution of the solar operated refrigera- ©FAO/Keifa Jaward tor to 25 ABCs the country The ABC representatives receiving the consignment from the Depu- was on date done by the ty Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, Samking Briama Deputy Minister of Agricul- ture and Forestry, Samking ported with vet drugs and District Agriculture Officers. Briama at the Campbell vaccines to respond to ur- The Minister encouraged the Town ABC during the gradu- gent livestock diseases. A beneficiaries to appropriate- ation of Farmer Field total of 125 Community Ani- ly utilize the equipment so Schools (FFS) in the West- mal Health Workers that the financiers will be ern Rural District. (CAHWs) have been trained motivated to do more. to run the drug store and The 25 ABCs have benefit- also treat sick animals (for The 25 solar refrigerators ted from the livestock sup- minor cases) in their re- will be installed in all loca- port under the GAFSP pro- spective communities under tions and the ABC members ject, and they will be sup- the direct supervision of the trained on good manage- ment practices. This compo- nent of the project is to ad- dress animal welfare there- by increasing production and nutritional status of the Farmer Based Organization members and further create jobs at community level for the Community Animal ©FAO/Keifa Jaward Health Workers. Deputy Minister advising the beneficiaries on the proper use of the equipment FAO Sierra Leone Newsletter - 3 Handling animal health issues with inadequate equipment and personnel were so valuable to me,” he lamented. According to him, within two weeks, he saw three out of his 15 goats alive. He then concluded that the others might have died in bushes. Before we complet- ed interview with him, one of his dependents came and reported to him that one of the remaining three goats was dead. Koroma is very sad now ©FAO/Keifa Jaward that his goats are dead, One of the infected goats discovered in Moindu wandor and he has no money at the Mohamed Tommy Koroma of them are school going moment to restock. He re- rears livestock in Moindu children. ferred to them as his sav- Wandor in Kenema, East of It was in April 2018 that he ings because he sold them Sierra Leone. He has been started observing that some whenever he was urgently in the trade for over 15 of his livestock were not ac- in need of money, especial- years, but this year is a tive as usual and could not ly for paying school fees miserable time for him be- go for grazing. He started and solving other pressing cause he has already lost 13 fetching grass for them but problems. “I am very wor- out of the 15 livestock he they could not eat as well. ried that even my remain- owned. His livestock are dy- In June, the goats started ing two goats will die be- ing from an unknown dis- dying. “I first saw four laid cause they might have con- ease outbreak in his com- dead near my house. Few tracted the disease. It is munity. days later, I saw another very difficult to find some- Koroma is an auto mechanic two dead. The situation one in our community to and a farmer as well. He has worried me so much be- urgently borrow USD20 seven dependents and five cause I know how my goats from. My goats were my savings,” he mourned. FAO Sierra Leone Newsletter - 4 Koroma like many livestock owners in the Moindu commu- Government and partners’ re- nity are very much discour- sponse to the outbreak aged about the way they are Upon receiving report about of 124 were accounted losing their livestock. The last the disease outbreak in dead and 129 were at high time similar plague occurred Moindu Wandor in Kenema risk. The residents were not in the locality was few months district, in the East and able to figure out how Gbangbama Kwelu in Mo- many dead animals are before the Ebola disease out- yamba district in the South, abandoned in the bush. break in 2014, but the impact the Food and Agriculture Residents of Gbangbama was not severe as the current Organization of the United Kwelu Chiefdom in Mo- outbreak. The price of a goat Nations (FAO) in partner- yamba District could not ship with the Ministry of account for the number of – buck and doe – in their Agriculture and Forestry dead animals because most community is USD30 and it (MAF) and Njala University of them were abandoned in will be more attractive when visited the affected commu- the bush. they are taken to the cities. nities, from 20 to 23 June The same clinical signs - 2018, to investigate the mouth, eyes, and nasal dis- Farmers in the Moindu com- disease outbreak . charges, diarrhoea, loss of weight were confirmed in munity rear their livestock on The team interviewed com- both communities. There- free range and most of them munity stakeholders, live- fore, the team instructed stock owners, collected as social assets. They do not the communities to impose blood, nasal and mouth vaccinate their livestock regu- quarantine on sick animals swab from 61 goats and and restrict movement of larly. They only hire the ser- sheep - 50 from Moindu healthy animals between vice of a community animal and 11 from Kwelu - for la- communities until the in- boratory investigation. health worker when they no- vestigation report was out. In Moindu alone, there tice some signs of sickness in Communities were advised were more than 253 heads to use protective gear when their livestock. of small ruminants. A total handling sick animals, and they were strictly warned not to eat dead animals. In a press conference on Friday, 29 June, FAO and MAF updated stakeholders and the media on the sta- tus of the outbreak and cautioned the public on the preventive measures and channels of reporting when- ever similar signs are no- ticed among animals any- where in the country. ©FAO/Keifa Jaward The joint MAF/FAO/Njala University team interacting with the villagers in Moindu FAO Sierra Leone Newsletter - 5 Capacity of the livestock and vet- erinary sector in the country After the end of the civil war, the country’s livestock and vet- erinary sector deteriorated and remained with few trained and qualified personnel that cannot ©FAO/Keifa Jaward efficiently handle the caseload in the country. Currently, the A laboratory technician collecting blood sample from a goat in Moindu Wandor country cannot boast of a doz- en veterinary doctors, and ma- FAO capacitates advocates for jority of the available workforce women’s equality in customary are either in their prime to re- tirement or in the research in- land rights stitutions.