By Aminata Abu Bakarr Kamara
The Ministry of Gender and Children’s Affairs (MoGCA) has strengthened its commitment to promoting gender equality, social inclusion and the protection of vulnerable groups through a new partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (MAFS) under the Food System Resilience Project (FSRP).
The two Ministries have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at ensuring that gender equality, social inclusion and protection from gender-based violence (GBV) are incorporated into programmes and interventions designed to strengthen Sierra Leone’s food systems.
The agreement is expected to provide a framework for closer collaboration between the two institutions, particularly in ensuring that women, children and other vulnerable groups benefit meaningfully from investments and interventions within the agricultural sector.
Speaking on behalf of the Ministry of Gender and Children’s Affairs, the Honourable Minister described the agreement as an important step towards ensuring that national development programmes adequately respond to the different challenges confronting women, children and other vulnerable groups.
She stressed that the partnership goes beyond an administrative arrangement, describing it as a strategic commitment to placing gender equality, safeguarding and social inclusion at the centre of Sierra Leone’s efforts to build resilient and sustainable food systems.
Women remain central to agriculture and food security in Sierra Leone, playing important roles in food production, processing, distribution and household nutrition. However, many continue to face barriers in accessing productive resources, economic opportunities, services and decision-making spaces.
The partnership is therefore expected to contribute to addressing some of these inequalities while strengthening measures to protect women and other vulnerable groups from violence, exploitation and abuse.
Under the agreement, MoGCA will provide technical support in areas including gender analysis, capacity building, safeguarding and community engagement. The Ministry will also contribute to strengthening institutional mechanisms for the prevention of and response to gender-based violence, Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (SEA), and Sexual Harassment (SH).
The collaboration is also aligned with Sierra Leone’s Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (GEWE) Act 2022 and national gender policy, as well as the country’s international commitments under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the Maputo Protocol.
The partnership further supports the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 2 on Zero Hunger, SDG 5 on Gender Equality, and SDG 16 on Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions.
The integration of gender and safeguarding measures into food-system programmes is seen as particularly important as Sierra Leone seeks to strengthen agricultural productivity, food security and resilience in the face of economic, social and environmental challenges.
MoGCA’s involvement is expected to ensure that food-system interventions extend beyond agricultural production and resilience to also address the safety, participation, inclusion and empowerment of the people at the heart of Sierra Leone’s food systems.
The signing of the MoU marks another step in the Government’s efforts to translate gender policies and protection frameworks into practical interventions capable of improving the livelihoods and wellbeing of women, girls, men and boys across the country.
Through the partnership, the two Ministries are expected to work together to promote a more inclusive agricultural sector in which vulnerable groups are protected, women are empowered, and all citizens have greater opportunities to participate in and benefit from Sierra Leone’s food-system transformation.
Copyright –Published in Expo Times News on Wednesday, 2nd September 2026 (ExpoTimes News – Expo Media Group (expomediasl.com)
