50x2030 and Sierra Leone Launch Five-Year Partnership to Advance National and Regional Development Initiatives

Sierra Leone is currently working with the World Bank on an ongoing IDA Project focused on Harmonizing and Improving Statistics in West Africa, or HISWA. A key component of the project is to support the improvement and development of agricultural statistics in country, achieved through the implementation of a system of annual agricultural surveys. The subcomponent on improving agricultural statistics will be implemented through the 50x2030 Initiative, a program jointly launched by the World Bank, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). This week, the 50x2030 Program Management Team traveled to Sierra Leone to meet with the Honorable Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries, Dr. Abu Bakarr Karim, to finalize the Program Implementation Plan to officially onboard the country to the 50x2030 Initiative.

The 50x2030 Initiative assists countries in producing agricultural survey data necessary to monitor international (SDGs), regional (i.e., Agenda 2063; Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program, or CAADP), and national development agendas. 50x2030 promotes evidence-based public policy through the production and use of agricultural data.

Specifically, the 50x2030 Initiative will assist Sierra Leone in implementing an annual agricultural survey program adapted to ensure the production of foundational agricultural data that are timely and of quality, fit the needs of the country, and match national development targets such as the ones specified in the Medium-Term National Development Plan 2019-2023. Sierra Leone’s specific objective for a partnership with the 50x2030 Initiative is to “improve productivity and commercialization of the agricultural sector” and to “strengthen statistical systems for effective public policy management.”

The 50x2030 Initiative will likewise assist the country in strengthening use of survey data through building capacities of national stakeholders to optimize the use of data to inform decisions, policies, programs, and investments. The implementation of 50x2030 activities in Sierra Leone will run for five years, concluding in June 2028.