By Isatou Jawara
The department of planning under the ministry of agriculture in collaboration with CILLS, a sub regional Sahel drought organization and its development partners, which include WFP and FAO recently organised a joint identification risk workshop to assess and identify the food and nutritional situation of the country and develop a reference tool which helps countries to estimate the country’s risk and severity of food and nutrition .
The director of planning at Minitry of Agriculture Jerro Manneh said the forum will identify the risk areas and the population under the risk of food and nutrition. He added that it will also produce consensual communication template on food and nutrition insecurity in the country.
According to the director, findings from the workshop will be presented at a regional forum to consolidate national analysis for the production. This annual exercise, he said, assesses crop protection as well as forecasting the season cereal and cash crop production in addition to cereals and livestock market and the price levels assessment.
The director explained that the pre- harvest was much earlier on preceded by a rapid assessment in August. Already the outcome from both has been confirmed warning signals about the poor performance of cropping season which triggered the declaration of a crop failure from the higher office.
The director concluded that, this year November assessment is a very delicate exercise, which requires each and every one of us to provide the most accurate and up to date from our respective domains. He said this data in turn should be reviewed and accurately analyzed to be able to identify risk areas and populations in food and nutrition insecurity for the government and partners to take robust measures to improve this status without any dangerous delay.
Also speaking at the event Mr Ebrima Sankareh, Senior Principal Officer at MOA said tthe finalization of this document will assist the government to indentify risk areas and also improve and be better prepared for food crises in the affected communities.
Mr Martial Sey Traore, the Head of Division food security and market at CILLS said the outcome of this survey will be used as the evidence to respond to food crisis. “This year might be risk of crop failure and the result of the survey will determine that. Let us give much attention to quality data on the harmonized framework of food security,” he stressed.
