To enable the food self-sufficiency drive in the country, the GIZ-Move project and the Sierra Leone Regional Rice Value Chain Project (SLRRVCP) in the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security have initiated the meeting of the 1st national working group for the formation of the National Chapter of ECOWAS Rice Observatory (ERO) during commencement of a two-day event at Radisson Blu Hotel in Freetown on Tuesday 21st February, 2023.
The ECOWAS Rice Observatory (ERO) is a multi-stakeholder platform, of private and public organizations mandated to catalyze the development of a West Africa rice sector. It was conceptualized and established in 2021 by the ECOWAS Commission and partners for value chain actors to systematically work together in the ECOWAS Member States.
Giving his Keynote address at the meeting, the Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Sahr Hemore, reiterated that the rice sector development is part of the national agricultural transformation programme of the Ministry and the ECOWAS Rice Observatory national chapter would add value to the development of the rice sector and enhance the food self-sufficiency initiative in the country and the sub-region.
“Many experts who are talking on the subject of establishing a national chapter of the ECOWAS Rice Observatory (ERO) will present the reasons for such coordination. As a Government, we have decided to put funds into this event because we believe in it. I hope, my presence here this morning will inspire all of you present in this room and beyond, to take this workshop very seriously and give it your best,” Minister Hemore noted.
The ECOWAS Rice Observatory national chapter, he said, would help create synergies for the different rice value-chain actors that have been working independently, to collaborate effectively to map out strategies on how to improve on the food self-sufficiency drive in the country.
The Country Director of GIZ Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia, Christian Widmann, espoused that the launching offers the opportunity to the country to share experiences, develop a common vision, and forge ahead to build a national chapter of ERO for Sierra Leone for the participation of all stakeholders in the rice sector to align a common stakeholder interest.
“If all stakeholders in the country work together to stem import and drive a robust domestic production and processing of rice, it will be of great benefit for Sierra Leone and its people,” he added.
Widmann pointed out that, MOVE is supporting the establishment of a national chapter of the ECOWAS Rice Observatory (ERO) that will offer voice and space to drive competitiveness and ensure sustainability in the rice sector in the West Africa sub region.
Explaining about the essence of the ECOWAS Rice Observatory through zoom, the Secretary General of ECOWAS Rice Observatory (ERO) at the ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Boladale Adebowale ,reiterated that there is an improvement in the sector and increased productivity, however, there is shortfall with domestic production capacity meeting only 62% on the region’s need though there are several efforts by regional bodies and national Governments to develop the sector.
She explained that the main objective of national chapters of the ECOWAS Rice Observatory (ERO) is to help key actors in the West African rice sector to coordinate policy, value chain development, financing and map out strategies for enhanced growth together. It has a bottom-up structure, where the action taken at a regional level is based on the strategic priorities identified by the national-level stakeholders.
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security,Andrew Sorie, who doubles as the Chairman of the opening ceremony said that rice is an international food not just as an economic and political commodity and by establishing the national chapter of the ECOWAS Rice Observatory in the country would increase on the coordination within the rice sector and saying such sits with the Ministry of Agriculture since it would be serving as an advisory body to guide the development of the rice sector in the country.
Welcoming the rice value-chain actors, the Project Coordinator of the Regional Rice Value Chain in the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Abdulai Bun Wai, noted that, the meeting was significant in enhancing the sustainable development of the country’s rice sector maintaining how the ECOWAS Rice Observatory national chapter would help to support the development of the agricultural national rice development strategy.
He said the country’s consumption pattern must be considered: “We eat three bags per person per year, and the population is growing and unfortunately we only produce 40% of the national requirement of the 1.5 metric tons the country needs for the year .The expensive importation of rice in a small country like ours; given the challenging economy, spending over 200 million annually on the importation of rice is huge and those funds can be used on other social services like road, education and health and so on.”
The various value-chain actors made salient contributions on the way forward in the formation of the national working group in establishing the ECOWAS Rice Observatory in the country.
