Contributed
The President of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina, as part of his three days official visit to Sierra Leone, has on Thursday 12th March 2020 met with the Minister of Finance Jacob Jusu Saffa at his George street office in Freetown.
The Minister of Finance thanked the president for his visit to the country and also for the interventions of the Bank since 1967. He also took the President through the Macro and Micro economic challenges the country is faced with and what the government is doing to stabilize the economy, where he highlighted job creation through agriculture and entrepreneurship as major areas the government is exploring.
Jacob jusu Saffa called on President Adesina to share his experience as one time Minister of Agriculture in the Federal Republic of Nigeria on how he was able to transform the rice situation in their country, citing the huge rice potentials of Sierra Leone.
He stressed the need for more support in agriculture to attract the private sector in supply chain management for the availability of seeds and fertilizers.
In his response, the AfDB President expressed his delight to be in Sierra Leone and committed the Bank’s support in different sectors with emphasis on agriculture.
President Adesina stressed the need to have private sector players in the agricultural sector and how to use technology and digitization to help farmers access seeds and fertilizers.
He said government should not be in the business of seeds and fertilizer but rather create a strong agro-industry and value chain.
The president commended the strides of the government towards economic recovery and stability.
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