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The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has donated 40 tablets to Sierra Leone’s Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (MAFS) to modernize the country’s pest surveillance and response systems.
The handover ceremony took place on Wednesday, February 5, 2025, at the Youyi Building in Freetown.
The FAO’s Representative, Saeed A. Bancie, emphasized the critical role of agriculture in Africa’s economy and highlighted the significant threat posed by plant pests, which cause substantial crop losses, estimated between 30% and 60%, resulting in approximately USD 65.5 billion in annual economic damage across the continent. He called for continued collaboration among stakeholders to build a resilient and sustainable agricultural sector.
The tablets were provided through funding from the United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA-APHIS) under the Africa Phytosanitary Program (APP), according to Sahr Beinya, the officer in charge of day-to-day matters and IPPC Team Lead for the Implementation and Facilitation Unit, speaking on behalf of Sarah Brunel of the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) Secretariat in Rome. The APP aims to strengthen pest surveillance, identification, prevention, response, and control capabilities within national plant protection organizations.
Dr. Theresa Tenneh Dick, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, received the tablets on behalf of the Ministry. She expressed gratitude for the donation, acknowledging the long-standing partnership between MAFS and FAO. Dr. Dick noted that the tablets will support the Feed Salone initiative by enabling real-time field data collection, pest detection, and reporting, which will facilitate evidence-based decision-making in plant pest prevention and management.
The ceremony concluded with the symbolic handover of the tablets and the signing of relevant documents.
