Special Relief Operations Service
SIERRA LEONE / 2000 Appeal - UN Consolidated
Inter-Agency Appeal - FAO Agricultural Relief Component
Amount: US$3 878 000
On 23 November 1999 the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Geneva, launched the 2000 UN Consolidated Inter-Agency Appeal for Sierra Leone.
On the same day the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan launched World Humanitarian Day in an effort to focus attention on the world's forgotten emergencies, those where there is little economic, strategic or media interest.
Sierra Leone is one of the world's forgotten emergencies.
The UN appeal includes five agricultural project profiles prepared by FAO for a total of US$3 878 000. The projects would benefit vulnerable farming families and displaced people in Sierra Leone.
With the signing of the Lome Peace Accord in July 1999, Government and rebel leaders brought eight years of brutal civil war to an end. The conflict has severely impacted the food production sector, with the massive displacement of rural people, loss of property, food stocks, seeds and the destruction of rural infrastructure. It is estimated that at least 200 000 vulnerable farming families will be in need of emergency agricultural assistance during the year 2000. In addition, a significant number of refugees, internally displaced people and demobilized ex-combatants are expected to return to their communities to resume production activities.
In 1999, the FAO emergency programme targeted 18 000 war-affected families including women's groups. FAO utilized its own resources to provide agricultural inputs and fishing equipment to destitute farming and fishing families. FAO also supported the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and the Environment to strengthen the coordination the emergency agricultural interventions. Donor resources were used to assist female-headed households to reactivate productive activities.
The objectives of this appeal are to (i) increase food production and decrease food prices to a level affordable to poor people; (ii) reduce malnutrition resulting from low intake of animal-based protein; and (iii) to integrate returning farmers at their place of origin. In order to meet these objectives, the appeal includes the following project proposals:
Strengthening of the coordination of and provision of technical assistance to agricultural relief and rehabilitation programmes (US$370 000)
This project aims to facilitate coordination of interventions for agricultural relief and rehabilitation and provide technical assistance to the Government of Sierra Leone, humanitarian organizations, agencies and NGOs involved in supporting the sector.
Emergency provision of essential agriculture inputs to farming families (US$1 764 000)
This project aims to assist up to 25 000 farming families, returning refugees and internally displaced people to resume productive activities through provision of seed, hand tools and fertilizer.
Reactivation of artisanal fisheries (US$506 000)
This project aims to assist up to 10 000 war-affected fishing families to resume fishing activities along the coastline of Sierra Leone.
Emergency provision of pigs, small ruminants and poultry restocking (US$840 000)
The project aims to increase livestock production to provide a source of food and cash income to 7500 returning refugee families and internally displaced population.
Urgent rehabilitation of inland valley swamps (US$398 000)
The project aims to increase food and cash crop production of 2000 resettling farming families through the provision of rice seed, hand tools, fertilizer and improved irrigation structures.
Should you wish to contribute to a project (total or partial costs), a project document can be made available.
For further information, please contact
Ms. Anne M. Bauer (E-mail: Anne.Bauer@fao.org)
Chief, Special Relief Operations Service, FAO.
See Complete FAO Project Proposals in pdf * format
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