Catholic Charities Collaborate to Boost Capacity of Sierra Leonean Women in Agriculture

During the five-day symposium last week, 50 women in Agriculture drawn from Bo were allowed to engage with others from the United States of America who, Charles said, had experienced similar farming challenges before and found ways to address them. 

He said, “The farmers had an opportunity to learn from each other. They shared some bad agricultural practices in Sierra Leone that continue to affect the yield every year.”

“This project seeks to create a nexus between market values where women in agriculture who produce, say, vegetable leaves will be able to have their customer base. This way, they won't have to go to the market to sell, but rather, pay attention to producing more quality leaves,” Charles said.

Those present at the symposium participated in discussions, exchange of ideas, learning, and group discussions.

Professors from Njala University in Sierra Leone provided the training that was funded by the U.S. Embassy in Sierra Leone through HealyIRF, a charity that was inspired by Monsignor Daniel Sullivan.

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Farmers were trained on the best honey production and management techniques, backyard garden techniques, and organic ways to manage pests and diseases on their crops and animals.

The farmers were also equipped with techniques to preserve seeds and seedlings for the next planting seasons.

The Head of the Department of Animal Health Sciences at Njala University, Professor Roland Soluku, cautioned the farmers against employing harmful farm management methods such as the burning of bushes, noting that the method is not friendly to the environment.

The professor encouraged more use of manure in place of synthetic fertilizers, noting that the fertilizers had made the soil already too acidic.

Caritas Freetown and Njala were used as implementing partners of the project.

Charles told ACI Africa that one of the expected outcomes of the project is to see farmers build networks among themselves and continue with collaborative learning. 

“Njala University has set up a team of mentors that will follow through with these women for a minimum of six months to see how they will build up group dynamics among themselves and to see how best they learn collaboratively among themselves and share ideas and challenges, and how to overcome them,” the Caritas Freetown Programs Manager said.

He added that the Sierra Leonean University has distinguished itself in imparting best agriculture-related skills.

Agnes Aineah is a Kenyan journalist with a background in digital and newspaper reporting. She holds a Master of Arts in Digital Journalism from the Aga Khan University, Graduate School of Media and Communications and a Bachelor's Degree in Linguistics, Media and Communications from Kenya's Moi University. Agnes currently serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.