Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Security, Dr Joseph Sam Sesay yesterday disclosed to Awoko that, the government of President Koroma is strongly committed to addressing the current food problem in the country especially as prices are skyrocketing daily. “We have a responsibility and we are bound to meet those responsibilities”, Minister Sesay said.
The Minister, who has just returned from trips abroad said, while in the United States of America, he addressed a high level meeting of the Peace Building Commission and that the main objective was to determine progress made in managing the Peace Building fund in Sierra Leone and to also determine emerging priority issues.
According to the Minister, he was able to make a case on behalf of the country that, agriculture should be prioritized on the Peace Building Fund. “This is the case because, if we are talking about averting conflict, we should be dealing with the majority of the people, and most of them are engaged in agriculture. In order to turn our economy round we have to prioritize agriculture”, the Minister said.
Minister Sesay further disclosed that, his suggestion was overwhelmingly accepted in New York and that a mission from the Peace Building Fund is currently in the country and they are working to ensure that, agriculture is placed on top of the priority of the Peace Building Fund.
Also the Minister said he was in Rome where he was made to submit on behalf of the other countries, petitions on the global food crisis to the UN Secretary General. According to the Minister, Sierra Leone has a comparative advantage to be able to produce food on its own.
He said the government will ensure the right thing is done to address the current problem and that; they have been supplying seedlings to farmers in the provinces as well as tractors as ways of addressing the problem. He disclosed that they have as a government developed a program of action to look at the current food crisis. “If you go upcountry, you realize that, we have been supporting farmers with tractors and seedlings”, Dr Sesay said.
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