On July 31, 2024, partners of the EWA-BELT and INCiTiS-FOOD projects held the third and final webinar focused on soil and water management in Sierra Leone.
With the title “Resource Management Optimisation: Two Sides of the Same Coin – Soil & Water Management in Sierra Leone”, the panellists from EWA-BELT and INCiTiS-FOOD projects shed light on the innovative approaches that are being tested in the labs or on the field by researchers. These efforts involve community representatives who draw insights from research and best practices, highlighting the importance of soil and water management techniques in promoting agricultural sustainability and resilience.
With hunger levels rising in Africa, particularly in the sub-Saharan region, due to food insecurity, COVID-19, climate change emergencies, and other factors, effective resource management has become critical. This requires strategic planning, allocation, and utilisation of various resources to ensure access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food for all individuals and communities. This is exactly what the two projects are doing in Sierra Leone.
Insights from the Experts
In particular, on behalf of the EWA-BELT Project, Dr Mohamed Joseph Sesay from the University of Makeni presented “Agri-Livestock Combination: The Potential for Soil and Crop Improvement Through Organic Fertilization”. He first outlined what organic fertilisers are and what is their role in agriculture, highlighting the current challenges faced by farmers and the entire agri-food value chain. Among others, hunger, shifting cultivation and land constraints are the priorities that innovative resource management techniques and strategies intend to tackle.
To do so, the researchers involved in the project have not only empirically analysed the soil physicochemical properties and yield data after the application of organic fertiliser compared to inorganic one or lack of thereof, but are also planning to enrich the promising preliminary results with the application of organic manure in enhancing soil improvement and crop performance through RCBD with three replications. In general, if it is true that organic fertilization has proved to be a valuable strategy to enhance soil properties as of now, the challenges that still persist cannot be easily dismissed.
The EWA-BELT project will therefore work to encourage the adoption of organic fertilizers by farmers in the involved districts through targeted capacity-building activities while also offering alternative ways to face the cost of such practices towards long-term improvement of soil conditions, crop production and eventually of food security levels.
The first speaker on behalf of the INCiTiS-FOOD project was Gibrilla Samuel Jalloh from Njala University, presenting “Aquaponics Solutions for Better Water Use and Management”. He discussed the economic benefits of aquaponics, different types of systems, and offered valuable advice on managing water in aquaponic systems. Following him, Annmarie Bangura, also from Njala University, talked about the biology of the Black Soldier Fly, its economic benefits, and provided detailed instructions for composting in her presentation “Black Soldier Fly for Composting”.
The final speaker, Prof. Olufemi Julius Olapade, provided a detailed explanation of the Living Lab at Njala University, part of the INCiTiS-FOOD project. He described the units at the Living Lab and illustrated his talk with pictures of the people and facilities involved.
Acknowledging the importance of soil and water conditions in the fight against hunger and food insecurity in sub-Saharan Africa and in the entire continent, the webinar highlighted some promising alternative resource management strategies and techniques to be adopted by farmers in a collaborative and cooperative environment where the needs of the communities and their knowledge are recognised, preserved and enhanced, and investments in research are provided.
The EWA-BELT and INCiTiS-FOOD projects focus on creating the long-term and sustainable improvement of rural communities’ life standards.
The INCiTiS-FOOD Project (GA No.: 101083790) has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme. The EWABELT Project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the grant agreement No 862848. All the information is available on the INCiTiS-FOOD Project’s website, Facebook, Instagram, X (Twitter), LinkedIn and YouTube. Also, all information about EWABELT Project is available on the website, Facebook, Instagram, X (Twitter), LinkedIn and YouTube.
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