By Sajor Jalloh
The National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) met with officials from the Food Systems Resilient Project (FSRP) on Tuesday to outline collaborative strategies aimed at enhancing disaster risk reduction, data management, and targeted support for communities impacted by recent floods across Sierra Leone.
The engagement comes after severe flooding led to the widespread destruction of farmland and buildings, threatening food security and agricultural livelihoods.
During the meeting, NDMA officials proposed a comprehensive flood impact assessment to evaluate damages to farmland, buildings, and essential infrastructure in affected areas.
This data-driven initiative is intended to map affected beneficiaries accurately and guide FSRP’s efforts to provide tailored agricultural support to impacted farmers. According to the NDMA, this assessment will be essential for pinpointing areas requiring immediate intervention and aiding in long-term recovery planning.
The FSRP’s commitment to supporting NDMA falls under its first project component, “Digital Advisory Services for Agriculture and Food Crisis Prevention & Management.”
This segment of the FSRP aims to enhance the resilience of Sierra Leone’s agriculture sector against climate-related shocks by improving access to critical data and advisories, which are essential for managing food security risks effectively.
“We are pleased with our ongoing partnership and look forward to working closely with the NDMA to achieve meaningful results,” said Mrs. Oliamatu Sadiya Abdulai, head of Component 1 of the FSRP and Environmental Specialist.
FSRP Project Manager Dr. Kepifri Lakoh added that the project team would work with NDMA to refine their proposed assessment to align with FSRP’s standards. “The data from this assessment will help us identify the necessary responses for assisting farmers next year,” Dr. Lakoh noted.
FSRP’s assistance to the NDMA has included several initiatives aimed at bolstering the agency’s operational capabilities. Key contributions include hiring a consultant to standardize data collection, providing transportation resources to improve data-gathering efforts, and distributing tablets to NDMA’s regional offices to transition from paper-based to digital data collection methods.
The FSRP has also contributed to the development of the Ministry of Agriculture’s Food Crisis Preparedness Plan and supports the regular publication of disaster risk bulletins.
Representing the NDMA, Deputy Director General John Vandy Rogers emphasized the importance of the proposed assessment in enhancing NDMA’s capacity to collect and manage beneficiary data, a critical element for future disaster response. He was joined by NDMA’s Director of Research, M&E Abu Bakarr Bangura, Director of Relief and Response Sinneh Mansaray, and Director of Communications Mohamed L. Bah.
As both NDMA and FSRP work towards greater resilience to disaster risks in Sierra Leone, the meeting marks a significant step in fortifying data-driven decision-making and streamlining disaster response efforts in the agriculture sector.
