ÂÒÂ׺£½Ç

ÂÒÂ׺£½Ç the Project

The additional resources from the ÂÒÂ׺£½Ç grant will contribute to expanding the reach of the project to an additional 61,300 people (from the current 881,900 to 943,200 people) focusing on vulnerable households and communities in six administrative districts: Pujahun, Moyamba, Port-Lokko, Tonkolili, Kambia, Koinandugu. The six districts were chosen based on the following criteria: (i) prevalence of food insecurity; (ii) geographical conditions for production (specifically rice and vegetables) and trading (distance to national and regional markets); (iii) location of emergency projects of other development partners to avoid concentration; and (iv) balanced support for districts in the North and South of Sierra Leone. 

In the short term, the project contributes to increasing the area under cultivation for crop production by 24,500 ha. An additional 9,000 ha for rice will be supported, in addition to the inclusion of high-nutrient crops, such as biofortified cassava and orange flesh sweet potato to enhance household nutrition. According to initial estimates, this translates to satisfying the annual consumption of at least 110,000 people at an average of 131 kg per capita. This support is also expected to contribute to the FSRP target for reducing food-insecure households by at least 25 percent. Also, the expected boost in production will increase food supply to local markets hence contributing to reducing the high price rise for main staple food and other close substitutes. In the medium term, the project will contribute to capacity enhancement for the delivery of extension services to farmers thereby enhancing the production environment for an effective farming practice, which promotes intensive production and improve productivity as a whole.