Sierra Leone
Food Security 2012
Final Report for the Guernsey Overseas Aid Commission
Project need
The livelihoods of over 60% of the population in Sierra Leone depend on agriculture. However, the
level of productivity in the agricultural sector is relatively low. Over 80% of the staple food (rice) is
imported for consumption. This makes the relative price of food products high and thus
unaffordable and inaccessible by many. Over 90% of the farmers in the country are not only poor
but lack basic education and technical knowledge in basic modern farming practices. Literacy rates
are very low at only 26% for women and 45% for men. The political drive to increase food
production in the country by providing tractors without the adequate maintenance strategy in an
illiterate environment has not brought any desirable change.
The increase in rural-urban migration also adds another dimension. Young and able people have
been attracted to the main cities to seek opportunities which the country side cannot provide.
Farmlands have been deserted; only the weak and the old attempt to maintain the land which has
ended up reducing the marginal productivity on the land. Few could afford adequate food to
survive. Also, unpredictable weather patterns have resulted in severe food shortage and hence
high prices with the poor being the hardest hit.
It is within this situation that the food security project has seen real outcomes. We have seen an
increase in food security in the target communities and an increase in the economic status of the
recipients – especially the women.
Original Project aims
The original aims of this project were to implement a food security project to benefit 7,500 people, of
which at least 1,350 would be vulnerable women in rural communities within 12 districts of Sierra
Leone by providing:
> seeds and tools for 60 communities
> the tools and materials for the construction of eight dry stores
> construction materials for livestock pen houses
> 2 female and 1 male livestock for 20 communities
> The construction of 10 seed bank storage facilities
> Training for approx. 50 people in the rearing of livestock, marketing of livestock and
vegetables and literacy
Project Achievements
The activities of the project have enabled vulnerable communities to start normal farming activities.
Women’s clubs (known as mothers’ clubs) were supported with farm inputs such as tools,
vegetable seeds, husk rice seeds, potato vines and cassava cuttings along with the construction of
Guernsey Overseas Aid Commission. Sierra Leone, Food Security Project 2012 Final Report
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seed banks. As planned, 7,500 people have benefitted from the project. This has included 4,350
vulnerable women which is almost three times the original target!
Seed banks were constructed to store produce and provide seeds for the next planting season.
The fathers’ club members worked with the mothers’ club members to the production of food. The
construction of seed banks has helped to preserve and store produce that might have been
destroyed by pests. Food production levels have increased which has ensured the availability of
food even during the rainy season. The average price of locally produced food stuff is now
relatively low and affordable. The nutritional, social and economic status of the women has
improved. The incidence of minor illnesses such as anaemia and malnutrition has reduced. In
addition, women now actively participate in decision making processes and are able contribute to
the welfare of their homes.
The project indirectly benefitted a further 16,500 people. Indirect recipients included family
members of households of the direct recipients and also people from the neighbouring
communities.
Case study – Yeabana Community,Pujehun District
Yei Mamie, a 67 year old woman, told a member of the Red Cross that people in their
communities used to farm alone when they returned home after the war because of limited
resources and tools.
‘‘...With the support from the Red Cross people, it now became encouraging as we work in
groups. We do communal farming in Gibina and participate in the weekly market in Gondama
where we sell our harvests and livestock to take care of other family welfare needs. Thanks
to the Red Cross for that. The Red Cross man in Pujehun told me that the British Red Cross
provided funding for our farming to improve to this level where we can now make money to
take care of hospital bills and save some money for other important things for our children.”
“We received cassava cuttings, potato vines, and seed rice. We worked with these on nearly
one acre of land and they multiplied. We are able to get our daily meals from it for almost the
whole year round, particularly during the rains, which was very difficult to do in the past. Over
the years, we lived on wild yams and forest leaves to prepare our meals when things got bad,
but now we eat decent food. Thanks to the Red Cross for giving life to our children because
as for us, we are near our graves now”, cried Yei Mamie.
Provision of seeds and tools for the women’s clubs for backyard gardening: These were
vegetables, potato vines, groundnuts, cassava cuttings and pepper seeds and seedlings, and
sometimes husk rice seeds. The women’s club members were assisted in the cultivation of their
land by their counterparts - the fathers’ club members. The low social status of women culturally
puts them at a disadvantaged position economically. Also, food related customs prevent women
from eating a well balanced diet e.g. the best part of the food is served to the father and the little
left for the mother and children. In order to address the above issue, the SLRCS facilitated the
formation of Mothers’ clubs (women’s groups) in communities. Through these groups, support in
the form of seed and tools (agro inputs) has been provided to communities to grow mainly
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vegetable gardens to augment their nutritional
status. Depending on the yield, some of the
produce was sold to generate income for the
family thus improving the women’s socio –
economic status.The proceeds from the
gardens were processed and stored in seed
banks. The size of the yield was often
determined by the weather condition.
Construction of 8 dry stores: Eight drying floors
and stores were constructed as planned. The
communities have seen a clear improvement in
the preparation and handling of the harvested
food stuff before sale or consumption.
Madam HawaKpanabom(pictured below) is a
member of the Mothers’ club of Senehun village
in Mattru Jong, Bonthe district.
The women were disgusted and tired of years of
toiling in vain. Storage facilities for the farm
produce from the women’s club gardens were
not available and so most often, their harvests
were destroyed by pests such as rats. “Even our
little children contributed in perishing our gains
especially the eatable raw products like
groundnuts,” lamented Madam Hawa.
Through this project a seed bank for the farmers
in Senehun village was constructed where the
women kept their seeds for the next farming
season. “I am very much pleased with the
activities of the Red Cross Society, especially
the seed bank which I believe has not only
brought relief but motivation to expand our
gardens and get more money,” Madam Hawa
said happily.
Livestock and penhouses: Livestock pen
houses were constructed within 20
communities as planned. The capacity in
knowledge and resources for women in
targeted communities clearly increased. It
means that the beneficiaries are now capable of solving some minor domestic problems from the
income generated from the livestock sales.
Seed bank and storage facilities: All the seed banks were constructed and are in use. They ensure
the protection of grains and food items from moisture, heat, rain, insects and pests. The local
communities were instrumental in providing local materials such as sticks, sand, ropes, and stones
while the SLRCS contributed imported materials such as cement, nails and roofing materials. The
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constructed seed banks provide storage space for approximately 400 households. The
communities were very enthusiastic as they had never had a convenient place to store their
produce. Wastage in food production can be significantly reduced if communities are taught food
preservation techniques and are supported with storage facilities such as seed banks.
Provision of livestock: A total of 60 livestock (2 female and 1 male) livestock were received by 20
communities as planned. It has improved the quality and nutritional value of the food. It has also
strengthened the economic status of the communities.
Training in the rearing of livestock: A total of 500 people were trained in rearing of livestock. This
strengthened the capacity of the rural villagers to develop their own farms and to improve the
quality of the food that they produce. It also increased the community’s financial wellbeing.
Eating meat – a luxury in many parts of rural Sierra Leone. One farmer’s story…
“In Sierra Leone eating meat is a luxury, not a usual daily household menu. Many homes eat
meat only on festive occasions, public holidays or during funeral ceremonies. With the
provision of livestock to us by the Red Cross, we can now eat meat in our meals even though
it is eaten on a daily basis, but we can eat meat anytime we want. Believe me many people
have died in this village as a result of malnutrition and starvation and we have attributed their
illnesses to several myths. People lose weight and get thinner before they die.
Now there is magic we can feel the difference, when we eat our meals we realise that we are
eating nutritious food. Because we grow a lot of rice also and make money from our produce,
our lives have improved. I think our children have been dying of hunger in this village and
while we stand aside helplessly believing that it was a mysterious disease that is killing them.
We give them all sort of medicines to drink in vain.
Many households have farms and can boast of domestic animals they rear. ‘‘There has never
been any organisation support to saving our lives like has done the Red Cross this time.’’
‘‘...We thank the Red Cross people for their good work, May God Bless them!’’
Literacy training: A total of 800 people were trained in basic literacy training within 20 rural
communities, 40 people per class. 40 people were trained per class, four times a week, 12 classes
in six months in basic literacy. The average villager that participated in these literacy classes can
now do basic arithmetic and can spell and write their names and other basic phrases.
Training of social marketing of livestock and vegetables: A total of 200 people received training in
the social marketing of livestock, vegetables and fruits. This led to increased marketing and
income for the villagers and reduced dependency and poverty level in the selected communities.
Community integration and support of the local stakeholders
A participatory rural appraisal methodology was used to assess the needs of the community. The
beneficiaries had also been involved in the planning stage by identifying the crops that would be
viable in their communities. The beneficiaries undertook the planting, weeding and harvesting.
They also took the decisions on the allocation of the produce. Community leaders amongst these
groups monitored the activities.
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All members of the communities – men, women and children were all involved in the
implementation of the project. Children carried food, prepared by the women to the farms for the
workers (men and women). The children also passed on hygiene promotion messages to their
parents from their hygiene promotion club meetings in school. Hand washing also became a major
theme; farmers were made aware of the dangers of eating without properly washing their hands;
especially where they had direct contact with the ground where they were in contact with germs
causing illnesses such as diarrhoeal diseases.
Community leaders like the Paramount Chiefs were very active in mobilizing their subjects to
participate and support the project from its inception to finish. The community also provided the
local materials to match the funding provided by GOA o all the target communities willingly
provided some local materials for the implementation of the project. This showed the level of
community commitment and contribution to the project.
The communities also provided accommodation for the technical team hired for the project.
Crucially, the Red Cross recompensed the communities for the team’s food. In addition,
committees were established in the communities to work with the project team. They proved to be
very supportive in enhancing the success of the project. They helped to monitor the materials as
well as the quality of work to be done by the skilled labourers.
Sustainability
The active involvement of the community elders and fathers’ club members in the project has
promoted community participation and created a sense of ownership of the programme - a key
ingredient for the sustainability of the programme.In the communities, local authorities continue to
provide oversight support which has been good preparation for the exit of the project in the
communities. Among the community committee members, individuals within the system give
regular updates to the branch. The views of the beneficiaries are gathered through these
community representatives who make regular visits to the Branch and are involved in different
forms of training to provide continued capacity building.
The Mothers’ clubs will now work with the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security to support
them with their gardens for improvement on the yields. This partnership will ensure that the seeds
in the seed banks are kept in good condition for them to be viable in the next planting season. The
Mothers’ club members are requesting that more seeds and tools to be provided to enable them to
grow more crops which could be used to contribute to the seed bank. This will enable other
interested men and women who want to become members of the mothers’ and fathers’ clubs to be
supported with agricultural seeds.
Helping communities construct and use seed banks (seeds, food storage facilities) will minimise
wastage of essential food items and grains. The communities supported are being encouraged to
contribute to the creation of further seed banks. The grains and seeds contributed to these seed
banks will be given to other mothers’ groups in the communities to grow during the next planting
season. This will ensure the continuity of the activities.
The Red Cross branch volunteers and staff were trained on strategies for effective implementation
and methods for retaining and sharing knowledge and skills in sustaining the impacts created from
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the support. Some volunteers were attached to oversee the day to day activities in the
communities such as monitoring, supervision, evaluation and the procurement of imported
materials for the project. They now continue to work closely with the community leaders in drawing
up guidelines for the most effective use of the services provided.
The profits gained from the different activities like soap making, Garri Processing (making cassava
flour), the sale of farm products and community micro finance is enabling the communities to
respond to some community developments without waiting for Red Cross support and guidance.
This is a potent way of ensuring sustainability of the project in the communities.
Monitoring
The project activities were monitored every quarter by the Branch Health Officers in the respective
Red Cross branches. In addition, the HQ team comprising the Health Coordinator, the Field
Services Manager, the Training Manager and the Planning & Research officer also monitored
progress. The monitoring was based on field reports and quarterly activity reports checklists which
had been developed around the respective objectives. The reports allowed for a reviews process
in order to guide an informed decision process. Reports were prepared and submitted to
management and the respective communities for feedback. Beneficiaries also formed part of the
monitoring team for capacity building.
The branch health officers and the local trainers directly supervised the field work supported by the
Branch Programme Assistant. The supervisory reports from the field informed the normal activity
reports. The HQ team in turn supervised the branch team and make periodic visits directly to the
project sites and target communities. Supervision visits usually involved meetings with the project
beneficiaries and local leaders to review and discuss the progress of the project activities.
Quarterly financial reports were submitted to the British Red Cross which maintained an overview
and final monitoring responsibility.
Expenditure
Item / Activity
Budget (£)
Seeds and tools for 60 communities, incl those for 45 women’s
clubs
Tools and materials for the construction of eight dry floors and
stores.
Construction materials for livestock penhouses within 20
communities. Inc. cement, wire nails, zinc, wire mesh and
gauze.
2 female and 1 male livestock for 20 communities
Construction of 10 seed bank storage facilities
Train 10 groups (approx 50 people) in rearing of livestock
Conduct Literacy training within rural communities
Conduct training of social marketing of livestock and
vegetables (approx.150 people)
Total
Expenditure (£)
£4,320
4,036
£10,936
10,586
£11,380
11,016
£7,400
£650
£1,965
£866
£1,965
7,163
629
1,964
1,334
2,754
£39,482
39,482
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Thank you so much for your invaluable support!
Guernsey Overseas Aid Commission. Sierra Leone, Food Security Project 2012 Final Report
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