By Forum staff writer
The United Nations Resident Coordinator in Sierra Leone Madam Seraphine Wakana has reaffirmed the strong commitment of the United Nations Country Team to promoting gender responsive agricultural transformation with a clear focus on women and youth as central drivers of food security and national development.
She made the statement while speaking at the national validation of the Gender in Agriculture and Food Security Policy held in Freetown. Madam Wakana said she was representing the entire UN system in Sierra Leone and emphasized the importance of coordinated action among UN agencies to support the effective implementation of the policy.
“I am here today to support UN Women in the important work they are doing,” she said. “This agenda cannot be advanced by one institution alone. It requires collective effort from sister agencies such as UNDP FAO IFAD and others working closely with the Government of Sierra Leone.”
The high level validation meeting brought together a wide range of stakeholders including the Minister of Gender and Children’s Affairs officials from the Ministries of Agriculture and Food Security and Youth Affairs development partners civil society organisations farmers’ groups women and youth leaders local council representatives diplomats and members of the United Nations community.
Madam Wakana praised the Government of Sierra Leone particularly the Ministries of Agriculture Gender and Children’s Affairs and Youth Affairs for taking the lead in developing a policy that places women and young people at the center of agricultural transformation. She noted that the policy aligns with the Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Act the Feed Salone initiative and other national development frameworks aimed at inclusive growth and food self sufficiency.
She described the policy as a clear demonstration of political will and recognition that sustainable agricultural development cannot be achieved without addressing long standing gender inequalities. She also commended the Minister of Gender and Children’s Affairs for attending the validation meeting despite a demanding schedule that included a separate high level engagement on gender based violence under the Spotlight Initiative.
“The fight against gender based violence and women’s economic empowerment are closely linked,” Madam Wakana said. “Addressing inequality requires action across all sectors.”
Highlighting the importance of agriculture to the national economy she noted that about 43 percent of Sierra Leone’s workforce is engaged in agriculture with women accounting for approximately 51 percent of agricultural workers. She stressed that women provide the majority of farm labour yet continue to face barriers in accessing land credit inputs extension services markets and technology.
Citing FAO estimates Madam Wakana said nearly 80 percent of employed women in Sierra Leone work within the agri food sector across production processing marketing and distribution. Despite this contribution women remain among the most affected by food insecurity and poverty.
She also referred to findings from the 2019 Demographic and Health Survey which show that nearly 30 percent of children under five in Sierra Leone are stunted. She described child malnutrition as both a development challenge and a gender related food security issue.
Madam Wakana concluded by stressing that evidence shows productivity and incomes rise when women have equal access to agricultural resources. She said the validation of the policy marks an important step toward inclusive growth and sustainable development as partners pledged continued support to ensure real impact for women youth and rural communities.
