The President of the International Fund
for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Dr. Kanayo F. Nwanze, has tasked the government
and people of Sierra Leone and Liberia to prioritise rural people in the post-Ebola
recovery plans, reports NaijaAgroNet.
IFAD president who was in the two
West-African countries made this call during his visit to Sierra Leone (4-6
August) and in Liberia (6-8 August), where he met with presidents of both
countries.
In Sierra Leone, Nwanze met President
Ernest Bai Koroma, the Ministers of Agriculture, Finance and Gender and the Governor
of the Bank of Sierra Leone. While in Liberia he met President Ellen Johnson
Sirleaf, the Minister of Agriculture and project implementation partners.
For him, Ebola has had an enormous impact
on the lives of rural people – many of whom are small-scale farmers who could
not grow food or earn a living during the epidemic.
“If we do not channel our investments to
the rural areas now, these farmers may have to migrate in search of work. This
could compromise the future food security of these countries,” he said.
NaijaAgroNet gathered that discussions were
focused on how IFAD could further support the two countries post-Ebola recovery
plans, particularly in rural areas.
Over 11,310 people, NaijaAgroNet recalls
died from the Ebola virus between 2014 and 2016 in the three affected
countries, namely Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Isaac Oyimah/GEE
Pix: Nwanze and labourers tilling the land for recovery
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