“UniMak and N’jala universities must be central hubs for the Feed Salone Programme,” - says PI-CREF’s Kandeh Yumkella

 

“UniMak and N’jala universities must be central hubs for the Feed Salone Programme,” - says PI-CREF’s Kandeh Yumkella

 

 By: Musa A. Kamara

Makeni, Thursday, 30 May 2024 - The University of Makeni (UniMak) has in collaboration with Social Business Development (SDB) - held its first Poultry Day at the University’s Makeni Campus.

The inaugural event brought together key players in the poultry sector to discuss effective strategies for achieving self-sufficiency in egg production by 2029.

With the ambitious goal of achieving zero egg importation in Sierra Leone by 2029, the Poultry Day provided participants with an opportunity to understand the call and ambition to eliminate egg importation to the country.

The ambition includes the implementation of optimized poultry management practices and effective vaccination programs that ensures increased poultry health and productivity.

The event also afforded SBD has to share its expansion plans for feed production, a process considered as critical for supporting the industry’s growth. SBD promotes sustainable development through agriculture and food supply chains.

As guest speaker, Hon. Dr. Kandeh Yumkella, an agricultural economist by training, and chairman of the Presidential Initiative on Climate Change, Renewable Energy and Food Security (PI-CREF) underscored the importance of sustainable and actionable partnerships.

“If we do this all alone, we will fail. If we collaborate well with the people, with financial institutions, academic institutions and other actors we will succeed. For me, it is clear that UniMak and N’jala universities must be central hubs for the Feed Salone Programme,” he said. “UniMak can be the hub of Feed Salone in the North and North-West and N'jala can be the hub of Feed Salone in the South-East,” he underscored.

According to a 2019 survey, about 200 million eggs are imported annually into Sierra Leone. Dr. Yumkella affirmed that if the necessary partnerships and commitments are there, Sierra Leone has the potential to produce that on its own in the next 2 -3 years.

Hon. Yumkella also highlighted the impact of climate change on the sector. “If we fail to address climate change and fail to build climate resilient systems, it will put all of this at great risk." He encouraged the use of decentralized renewable energy such as solar, hydro as they help to reduce the cost of fuel.

Mr. Francesco Zanchi, CEO of SBD called on government to intensify quality control on imported eggs to protect consumers from disease. He also called on government to set up a proper tax system that will aid investment in the poultry sector. Zanchi noted that SBD, through its affiliate Lion Poultry, currently has a mill that produces one ton of feed per hour. However, he intimated that they aim to increase that by six tonnes per hour.

Dr. Abdulai Palmo Jalloh, Chief Agriculturist at the Ministry of Agriculture said the government of Sierra Leone has made available agricultural grant amounting to 10 million dollars with no interest for farmers. He called on poultry farmers to visit the Ministry of Agriculture website to access details on the grant. He stressed that as a ministry their role in the Feed Salone programme is to help farmers increase their produce.