IITA/SLARI Holds Two-Day Workshop on Food/Beverage and Standard Recipes Listing for Sierra Leone Food Consumption and Micronutrient Survey

The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and the Sierra Leone Agricultural Research Institute (SLARI) hosted a pivotal two-day workshop at the FAO conference hall in Freetown, brought together nutritionists from the university, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, cooks from the school feeding program, and SLARI staff across the country. The event focused on developing a comprehensive database of food and beverage standard recipes towards generating databases for the Sierra Leone Food Consumption and Micronutrient Survey (SLFCMS) Project under Component 2.4 of the Feed Salone Government Initiative. This project, funded by the Food System Resilience Program (FSRP), aims to strengthen Sierra Leone's food system resilience, enhance food safety, and address the country’s malnutrition challenges.

The workshop commenced with opening remarks from various esteemed speakers. Dr. Alfred O. Dixon, IITA’s country representative, Chairman of the SLARI Council, and the driving force behind this initiative, expressed his excitement and commended the participants for their active involvement in ensuring the success of the Feed Salone Government Initiative. Mr. Mohamed Sippo, the technical lead for the Food System Resilience Program (FSRP), emphasized FSRP's commitment to funding adaptive research within the nutrition component. Dr. Isata Kamanda, SLARI’s Deputy Director for Commercialization and Business Development, welcomed attendees and highlighted the importance of developing a reliable database to secure funding for reducing malnutrition in Sierra Leone. FAO representative Mr. Abdulai A. Bangura, the event host, appreciated the participants’ efforts and encouraged them to strive for excellence, stressing the urgency of addressing malnutrition in the country.

The workshop is a key initiative under the Food Systems Resilience Program (FSRP), a collaborative effort between the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security and IITA. Funded by the World Bank and the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP), the FSRP aims to tackle food insecurity in Sierra Leone. The country grapples with poverty, food insecurity, and untapped agricultural potential. This workshop is crucial for the economy, as agriculture employs over half of the population and contributes significantly to the GDP. The initiative seeks to strengthen food system resilience, enhance food safety, and improve overall productivity.

The project aims to boost agricultural productivity, ensure food safety for local consumption and trade, and create employment opportunities. Dr. Martha, as the lead, underscored the importance of creating food database information for evidence-based decisions regarding current and future food and nutrition programming and policy in Sierra Leone. Participants were divided into groups to identify and describe foods/beverages and their names in Mende, Krio, Temne, and Limba. The first day concluded successfully, with the team well-prepared to continue the following day.

This workshop represents a significant step forward in addressing malnutrition and food insecurity in Sierra Leone, setting the foundation for a more resilient and productive food system.