The Agriculture Value Chain Development Project (AVDP) has represented IFAD at the launch of the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework. The event which took place on 26^th July 2024 at the Freetown Conference Center, Bintumani Hotel, featured an exhibition that showcased the support that IFAD is providing in boosting the agriculture sector  in Sierra Leone.

IFAD, one of many UN agencies in the country which participated in the launching ceremony was allocated  an exhibition booth, where the IFAD supported/funded projects (AVDP and RFCIP) displayed various farm products including assorted vegetables, cocoa beans, oil palm as well as varying visibility, communication and Knowledge management products to showcase their interventions and other support areas to smallholder farmers in Sierra Leone.

Representing the Government of Sierra Leone at the launch of the UNSDCF and the exhibition was the country’s Chief minister David Moinina Sengeh and other top government officials. In attendance at the event, were other development partners, both public and private partner agencies. IFAD was represented by the Country Programme Manager for Liberia and Sierra Leone, Pascaline Barankeba.

During the conducted tour of the various booths at the Exhibition, the Chief Minister was accompanied by other government officials and the UN Resident Representative. The inspection team visited the two IFAD booth/outlet and interacted with the beneficiary farmers who were brought to the exhibition ceremony.

The Project Technical Director, Tamba Dalton Kassoh, who led the AVDP Team, informed the inspection team about the AVDP achievements relating to various  value chains over the past four years of the project implementation.The Chief minister was particularly pleased with the level of accomplishment and impactful contribution of the project especially towards the Feed Salone initiative.

The Communication and Knowledge Management officials of the AVDP distributed communication and knowledge management products to the inspection team as part of an awareness raising and visibility of the AVDP. The AVDP farmers were excited to display the samples of their agricultural commodities (farm products) for sale at the exhibition centre.

The UNSDCF is a comprehensive framework that sets the strategic priorities for the partnership between the United Nations and the Government of Sierra Leone with the aim of accelerating progress towards the SDGs by addressing critical areas such as poverty reduction, health, education, gender equality and climate action. The programme was launched with the focus on three key pillars such as Food Systems, National Resource Management and Climate Change; Human Capital, Essential Services and Employment; and Governance and Economic Transformation in Sierra Leone.