IPPC donates tablets to strengthen pest surveillance and agricultural resilience in Sierra Leone
Posted on Mon, 17 Feb 2025, 07:07
©Courtesy (L-R): Saeed Abubakar Bancie- FAO Representative in Sierra Leone, Sahr Hemore and Theresa Tenneh Dick, Deputy Ministers I & II and Prince. A. Cole, Senior Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security and Alie H.D.
Freetown, 5 February 2025. The International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) Secretariat donated 40 tablets to the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (MAFS) of Sierra Leone, to boost the country’s capacity to monitor pests and develop effective strategies to prevent and control outbreaks. Pests and diseases are major agricultural production and productivity bottlenecks in Sierra Leone requiring adequate, well-equipped phytosanitary personnel to effectively manage them and protect the country’s agriculture and trade.
The tablets, with customized geospatial applications, will thus enable staff of national plant protection organizations (NPPOs) to use advanced digital technology for pest surveillance, detection, analysis, and reporting, supporting evidence-based decision-making on the most appropriate pest outbreak prevention and response.
The tablets were donated through the IPPC’s Africa Phytosanitary Programme (APP), with funding from the United States Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA APHIS). Through APP, the IPPC Secretariat has donated at least 45 tablets to each of the pilot countries- Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Mali, Morocco, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
In addition, the IPPC developed APP survey protocols for prioritized pests, to guide NPPO staff in pest identification and developed a centralized portal- the APP GIS Hub on the IPPC website where data is stored. The IPPC Secretariat also provides training and technical support.
Sarah Brunel, IPPC Secretariat Officer-in-charge for day-to-day matters, whose message was delivered by Sahr Beinya, APP focal person at FAO in Sierra Leone, noted that “by using reliable data, countries could increase agricultural market access through increased exports from pest-free areas and enhance compliance with International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures”. She encouraged NPPO staff to take the IPPC’s free e-learning courses to enhance their knowledge of surveillance and National Reporting Obligations.
Saeed Abubakar Bancie, Representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Sierra Leone handed over the tablets on behalf of the IPPC. “Although agriculture is the cornerstone of Africa’s economy, providing livelihoods for millions while contributing significantly to economic growth … plant pests pose a severe threat, causing economic losses amounting to USD 65.5 annually”, he said. He emphasized the importance of initiatives such as APP in enhancing Africa’s plant health capabilities and resilience and encouraged stronger national, regional and international collaboration.
Receiving the tablets on behalf of the Phytosanitary Control Unit (NPPO of Sierra Leone), Theresa Tenneh Dick, Sierra Leone’s Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, said the donation was timely and would support NPPO staff to provide reliable pest status and early warning data, supporting Sierra Leone’s Feed Salone Initiative. Feed Salone aims to catalyze Sierra Leone’s economic growth and sustainable development through improved agriculture. The Minister acknowledged the Ministry’s long-standing collaboration with FAO and the IPPC.
Alie Mansaray, Head of the NPPO of Sierra Leone, thanked the IPPC for empowering crop protection personnel and pledged the NPPO’s commitment to APP’s success. He recalled former IPPC Secretary Osama El-Lissy’s 2024 visit to Sierra Leone, where El-Lissy stressed to Agriculture Minister Henry Musa Kpaka, the need for proper infrastructure and skilled personnel for effective pest surveillance.
In the coming months, pending funds availability, Sierra Leone intends to distribute the tablets to all quarantine officers countrywide during an in-country training and conduct field surveys for Bactrocera dorsalis (fruit fly) and Diastocera trifasciata (Stem girdler), two key pests devastating vital economic crops such as mango and cashew.
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