WorldFish- Sierra Leone

Who We Are and What We Do in Sierra Leone

WorldFish is an international, nonprofit research organization that harnesses the potential of fisheries and aquaculture to strengthen livelihoods and improve food and nutrition security. Globally, more than 1 billion people obtain most of their animal protein from fish and 800 million depend on fisheries and aquaculture for their livelihoods. WorldFish is a member of CGIAR, a global research partnership for a food-secure future.

In Sierra Leone, the Feed the Future Sierra Leone Scaling up Aquaculture Production (SAP) project supports the development of the aquaculture sector in Sierra Leone to increase fish production, consumption and the incomes of small-scale farmers. The WorldFish-led project focuses on Tonkolili District, one of the poorest and nutritionally-insecure regions in the country, with a 28.2 percent childhood stunting rate.

Funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the USD 3.5 million project forms part of the CGIAR Research Program on Fish and aligns with the Sierra Leone Strategic Framework for Sustainable Aquaculture.

Our role in the pluralistic extension and advisory services system in Sierra Leone

Advisory services are critical to the success of rural small‐scale aquaculture farmers who lack the necessary knowledge to implement good management practices to improve yields. The extension for aquaculture farmers is totally absent in Sierra Leone. MFMR does not have the capacity to deliver extension services for aquaculture farmers. Since there are no established value chain actors such as fish seed and feed suppliers, provision of extension services as part of their marketing strategy are also absent. Facilitating the development of value chain actors such as private fish seed and feed suppliers and engaging private sector in contract farming and promoting cluster farmer groups are potent catalysts to fill the gap in extension services.

INGENAES and University of Illinois Partnership to Support the SAP Project

WorldFish in Sierra Leone is a proud member of the Network for Gender and Nutrition Strengthening in Extension, and furthermore, INGENAES is supporting WorldFish in Tonkolili in the field through extension programming, evaluation, and research. INGENAES first directly joined the Feed the Future Agriculture Pilot Project in 2016 and has boosted efforts under the SAP Project since the beginning of 2017. Through the partnership, field staff has learned to facilitate farmer-to-farmer learning exchanges, use practical tools to integrate gender and nutrition into field activities and reflections, assess technologies for impacts on gender and nutrition, and brainstorm innovations to address problems and constraints farmers face.

INGENAES is also collaborating with WorldFish to develop a gender strategy for the Scaling up Aquaculture Production (SAP) project. During July, to begin writing the strategy, a team of University of Illinois and WorldFish specialists worked together intensively in the field, communities, project offices, and workshops with farmers and extension workers, and stakeholders from the government, private sector, Njala University and other partners. Field-based learning and inquiry was a central source of inspiration and inputs for the strategy, aiming to begin implementation of the finalized strategy later this year.

Contact WorldFish in Sierra Leone:

worldfish-sierraleone@cgiar.org

Field Office: #1 Water Works Rd. Makeni Sierra Leone