Ongoing Training of Enumerators to Strengthen Soybean Value Chain in Sierra Leone

The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Nigeria, in collaboration with the Sierra Leone Agricultural Research Institute (SLARI), has commenced a comprehensive training program for enumerators at De Wizzard Hotel in Bo. This initiative is part of the broader Food System Resilience Programme (FSRP), supported by the World Bank, to IITA to give a technical backstop to SLARI, which aims to strengthen food security and mitigate malnutrition in the country.

The training will equip the selected enumerators with the necessary skills and knowledge to conduct a three-day survey across key districts, including Kenema, Kambia, Koinadugu, Moyamba, and the Western Area Rural Districts. The survey will focus on soybean processing, utilization, and the assessment of equipment used in soybean processing in Sierra Leone.

Speaking on behalf of the project lead during the opening session, Samuella Kargbo, a Nutritionist at SLARI, highlighted the importance of the training, noting that soybean is a crucial crop with immense potential to improve both food security and nutrition in Sierra Leone. She underscored that despite various efforts to address malnutrition in the country, food and nutrition insecurity persist, especially in rural areas. Therefore, adopting nutrition-sensitive approaches in the production and processing of food like soybeans could significantly contribute to tackling these challenges.

Dr. Augustine Mansaray, the Officer-In-Charge (OIC) of the Njala Agricultural Research Centre (NARC), spoke on the diverse uses and benefits of soybeans, describing it as a rich source of protein and oil, with its dry weight comprising about 60% of these essential nutrients. He explained that soybeans are not only a staple food in many parts of the world but also play a crucial role in providing complete protein for human diets; livestock feed, and even biofuel production. Despite its global value, he noted that the production and consumption of soybeans remain relatively low in Sierra Leone, largely due to limited knowledge about its value-added products.

Dr. Tamba Bandabla, a Biometrician, Dr. Osman Nabay, a Research Officer and Agricultural Economist at NARC, and Dr. Djana Mignouna, the Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Specialist from the IITA-Ghana station facilitated the training. They were very dedicated to pointing out the possible challenges the enumerators might encounter in the field during the process and identifying ways to solve them.

The survey will employ both focus group discussions and Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) at the community and chiefdom levels to gather detailed and context-specific information. These qualitative methods are crucial for gaining deep insights into the status of soybean consumption, processing, and utilization in districts with high rates of malnutrition. The survey will also document the types of equipment used in soybean processing, to identify gaps and opportunities for scaling up production.

The enumerators will focus on several key areas during the survey, including:

1. Assessing the status of soybean consumption, processing, and utilization in districts with chronic malnutrition.
2. Documenting the processing equipment used for soybeans in Sierra Leone.

The results from this survey will help inform future strategies to promote soybean production and consumption, particularly at the household level, to reduce malnutrition and improve food security in Sierra Leone.

As the training progresses, it is expected that the participants will be better equipped to contribute to the growth of the soybean industry in the country, paving the way for improved nutrition and economic opportunities for Sierra Leoneans.