Courtesy Call by CORAF Representative to SLARI Director-General; Highlights Key Developments in Agricultural Technology and Innovation Park

On November 12, 2024, the Sierra Leone Agricultural Research Institute (SLARI) welcomed Dr. Jonas Osei-Adu, a Consultant from CORAF who is here to support the 2024 open field and partnership signing ceremony for SLARI.

Dr. Prince E. Norman (Deputy Director General for Research and Technology Development) Welcomed Dr. Osei-Adu on behalf of the Director-General, Dr. Abdul R. Conteh and the entire Institute and assured of their support. Present were some members of the SLARI management and project team.

A key highlight of the meeting was the upcoming Open Field Day event, scheduled for November 13, 2024, at the SLARI Agricultural Technology and Innovation Park at Komrabai Village, Maforki Chiefdom, Port Loko District. This event is being organized in collaboration with the Sierra Leone, Food System Resilience Programme (FSRP) and to showcase innovative agricultural technologies developed by SLARI to most especially beneficiaries of the FSRP. This underscores SLARI’s commitment to promoting agricultural innovation and sustainable practices among Sierra Leonean farmers.

Dr. Osei-Adu was highly pleased with the performance of SLARI in promoting the concept of the Agricultural Technology Park. He indicated the invitation of Miss. Fatima (youth farmer under the iREACH initiative) to the youth summit in Togo as part of MITA 2024 was a testimony of the country’s performance and underscored the importance of supporting the youth enterprises to grow.

The discussion also centres on the need for SLARI to build a strong partnership network with key stakeholders to facilitate the out-scaling of its technologies to a broader population. He expressed the intention to meet with the FSRP team to explore the possibility of establishing additional Agricultural Technology and Innovation Parks in other regions. This is to ensure that improved agriculture technologies become more accessible to farmers 'end users nationwide. Furthermore, he encouraged SLARI to collaborate with other English-speaking countries for research funding, technology exchange and other issues that can assist the country develop and scale more technologies and innovations.

Despite some implementation challenges, Dr. Osei-Adu was impressed with the achievements of the SLARI team. He recommended the development of a technology license or patent rights policy for the commercialisation of technologies developed by SLARI. This will give right to seed companies and others to commercially multiply the developed varieties in large quantities for onward sale to farmers. He also encourages the production of foundation seeds by SLARI and works with private seeds to multiply these into certified seeds. These revenue measures he believes will support technology development and scaling beyond project support.

Dr. Osei-Adu also stressed the need for SLARI to offer technical support services through consultancy to the private sector and other end users as a way of generating revenue to sustain research programmes. This should be based on comprehensive internal regulations that will encourage Scientist and others to source for such opportunities.

As preparations for tomorrow’s Open Field Day continue, Dr. Osei-Adu and Dr. Adam S. Kanu (SLARI Agricultural Technology and Innovation Park Coordinator) encourage the public to come and witness the signing of partnership agreements between SLARI and seven (7) organizations as part of the open field day. This is to signal a significant step forward towards strengthening agricultural technology development in Sierra Leone.

This courtesy call has not only emphasized the achievements of SLARI but also charted a clear path for future collaborations and innovations that will drive the agricultural sector forward in?Sierra?Leone.