West Africa Women’s Association (WAWA) Sierra Leone has stepped up to support women farmer groups by providing them with one hundred bags of two hundred bushels of rice seedlings for cultivation activities.

This initiative fulfills the promise and agreement made by WAWA President, Madam Mame Bintou Ndao, to address the lack of seedlings for women farmers and promote agricultural empowerment for women and girls in Sierra Leone.

Over the weekend, WAWA and its partners distributed rice seedlings to various women farm groups across different districts and regions of the country. Rogbere, Port Loko District of the Northern Province, the Rokel Multi-Purpose Agriculture and Trade Group received five bags of ten bushels of seed rice. The Ethnic Youth Organization in Masiaka received seven bags of fourteen bushels, while the Preach Peace Organization in 4 Mile received fifteen bags of thirty bushels. Gbokowaylay Village in the North West Region received seventeen bags of thirty-two bushels, and Rogboka Village received thirty bags of sixty bushels.

Other organizations, including Livelihood Development Organization, Kissy Bendu, Aford, Dignity Now, Vision for the Blind, and Siriwama, also received rice seedlings in Kenema and Kailahun Districts in the Eastern Province.

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The distribution of the seedlings was carried out by Innocent Thomson, the Consultant Project Director, and Emmanuel Fomba, the Human Resource Director of WAWA, on behalf of President Mame Bintou Ndao. Both directors expressed WAWA’s commitment to enhancing agriculture in Sierra Leone and empowering women, girls, and vulnerable communities through skill development.

Innocent Thomson emphasized that this is just the first phase of the project, aimed at cultivating more seeds, expanding large-scale farming, and improving the living standards in the country. The project intends to establish a seed bank for food sufficiency, support school feeding programs, create opportunities for export, and encourage women’s active and sustainable participation in farming.

The beneficiaries expressed their gratitude to WAWA for providing them with much-needed seedlings, which have been a significant challenge for their farming activities. They pledged to make the best use of the support and committed themselves to rice farming. The beneficiaries also encouraged WAWA to continue its support and appealed for additional farming tools.

WAWA is an International Non-Governmental Organization (INGO) operating across all sixteen Economic Communities of West African States (ECOWAS). The organization’s vision is to establish and maintain platforms that empower women to contribute to sustainable development in all ECOWAS member states.