By Kadijatu Bangura, Reporter D.S
The Sierra Leone Correctional Services (SLCS) has cultivated 380 acres of farmland at the Mafanta Correctional Centre in Magburaka to promote self-sufficiency and support the Government’s Feed Salone initiative.
The initiative is in line with President Julius Maada Bio’s Feed Salone programme launched three years ago, which seeks to boost local food production and encourage public institutions to produce food for their own consumption.
The programme, championed by the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Dr. Henry Musa Kpaka, urges institutions to reduce dependence on external food supplies by becoming self-reliant.
The impact of the policy is being felt across several institutions. Homegrown school feeding now accounts for about 40 percent of rice procured by the World Food Programme (WFP), while cooking oil and beans are also being produced locally.
This year, the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces also cultivated close to 5,000 acres of rice, maize and other crops in support of national food production.
At Mafanta, the 380-acre cultivation highlights the role inmates can play in national development through agriculture.
The initiative also serves a rehabilitative purpose, as inmates engaged in farming receive practical agricultural training that could help them become productive and self-reliant after completing their sentences.
According to officials, the programme not only strengthens food security and institutional self-sufficiency but also promotes rehabilitation and reintegration of inmates through productive work.
For more information contact Daily Scope Newspaper at dailyscopemedia@gmail.com
