The coordinating unit of the Boosting Agriculture and Food Security (BAFS) project has on Friday August 28, 2020, handed over Information Technology (I.T.) Equipment to the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) to help that ministry achieve the vision of Sierra Leone’s objective of becoming a food secured middle-income country by the year 2035.
The equipment handed over to MAF included Vehicles, Motorbikes, Tablets, Desktop and Laptop computers, Printers, Wireless Routers, External Hard drives, a Projector and Screen, Cameras, Drones, USB Hard drives, Digital Audio recorder, Smart phones, Power bank and GPS.
During the handing over of the equipment, Deputy Minister II of Agriculture and Forestry, Dr. Abu Bakarr Karim said the receipt of the I.T. gadgets provided by BAFS is a step closer towards the goal of modernizing the Agriculture sector.
“Technology plays a vital role in every aspect of the modern world. In talking about private smart expert firm, technology is a bigger component and the equipment that you presented today is an extra boost in Agriculture in the country,” he said.
Dr. Karim appreciated BAFS and team for the implementation of its programs adding, “BAFS does not only focus on getting funding, but also on implementing and monitoring its projects.”
The Acting Imprest Administrator for BAFS, Issac Musa Bangura, said that the handing over of the I.T. equipment would aid BAFS and MAF in achieving their renaming objectives by sustaining the objectives that the Project had already achieved.
He commended the fact that the European Union (EU) has funded the BAFS project, and added that the EU support has sustained, and caused it to reduce poverty and food insecurity in Sierra Leone by increasing agricultural productivity and diversification.
“Despite the fact that we have achieved much, some activities are yet to be achieved, and those achieved need to be monitored and sustained,” Bangura emphasized.
He pointed out that the core activities of BAFS project are grouped under the following; Crops Divisions, Extensive Division, Forestry Division, livestock and Veterinary Services Division, Agriculture Engineering Division, Planning, Evaluation, Monitoring and Statistics Division (PEMSD) and Cross Cutting Division.
The European Union Project Manager working with the BAF’s coordinating unit, John Abu-Kpwoh, noted that the handing over of the gadgets vividly demonstrates the commitment of the European Union to enhance Agriculture as a first step towards greater development in Sierra Leone.
He predicted that the equipment provided would obviously prove to be essential for different kinds of jobs; and added thus: “we firmly believe in digital revolution; these equipment would benefit MAF and people that are striving to eliminate existing digital divides by preventing further disparities emerging in the agriculture sector.”
By George M.O. Williams
31/08/2020. ISSUE NO: 7898