The Minister of State Francess Piagie Alghali has highlighted the gains made by the government of President Julius Maada Bio in the last five years.
Madam Francess Piagie Alghali made this disclosure when asked to presents Sierra Leone’s Food systems reports at the UN Food Systems Stocktaking Moment conference on 24-26 July 2023 in Rome.
The 2023 UN Food Systems Stocktaking Moment was hosted in Italy, by the Rome-based UN Agencies (FAO, IFAD, WFP), in collaboration with the UN Food Systems Coordination Hub and the wider UN system.
Madam Alghali said that the government of Sierra Leone has demonstrated strong commitment from moving towards sustainable food systems since the food systems dialogue in 2021 and the development of a road map under the collaborative efforts of the government, European Union and FAO.
She said Sierra Leone is one of the first countries to implement the food systems transformation, she noted that transforming the agriculture systems is challenging, especially to bring all the commitment the government had put together. She however said that government had to divide them into thematic areas, with different entries points including productive and production base Agro Economical approaches, improving the competitiveness of the local value chain, she also talked about the gains made by the government to in improving the school feeding programs which has made more gains in the free quality education.
She also highlighted the improvements in the marine sector, adding that in Sierra Leone the fishing sector contributes 80% of the proteins for the people of Sierra Leone.
She concluded that the government’s approach was very good and has helped the country to make more inroads in food systems transformation by also adding the university to be part of because the research is an integral part improving the food systems in the country.
The UN Food Systems Summit +2 Stocktaking Moment will build on the momentum of the 2021 Food Systems Summit and will create a conducive space for countries to review progress on the commitments to action and identify successes, enduring bottlenecks and priorities in order to close the implementation gap by effectively and efficiently utilizing the Means of Implementation for food systems transformation.
It will also give opportunity to further socialize the powerful role of sustainable, equitable, healthy and resilient food systems as critical SDG accelerators and advocate for urgent action at scale, building on the latest evidence that sustainable food systems contribute to better and more sustainable outcomes for people, planet and prosperity leaving no one behind.
