AGRO-FORESTRY PROJECT

Strengthening the Capacity of Land Users through Basic Education, Negotiation, Land Conservation and Afforestation Skills.

It is a continuation of the previous Land Grabbing Project which basically aims at reducing land conflicts, as well as conflicts related to the effects of climate change. It also aims at promoting Climate Action for peace, by educating communities on land conflicts prevention and how to maintain and sustain peace. From the Land Grabbing Project, it became clear that Land Users need to be capacitated with theses skills through basic education; as such the new project was borne. This project does not only seek to capacity land users with basic negotiation and land conservation skills, but also seek to help them cope with climate change effects by planting trees to combat deforestation.
 
In view of the above, the project established experimental/demonstration farms in the five districts and planted 20,000 trees, 4,000 per farm as follows. The project is located in the following five districts of Sierra Leone:

• Bo: Konia • 4,000 trees planted per woodlot  
  
• Pujehun: Vawahun • 4,000 trees planted per woodlot  
  
• Bonthe: Mattrujong/Senehun • 4,000 trees planted per woodlot  
  
• Portloko: Mabalay • 4,000 trees planted per woodlot
  
• Tonkolili: Magburaka • 4,000 trees planted per woodlot  

The objectives of the project include

• For Rural Communities to know the economic and cultural importance attached to their land
  
• For Communities to be aware of the effects of deforestation and by extension those of climate change as well.
  
• For Rural Communities to be able to protect and preserve their  sacred forests for future generations
  
• To capacitate Community Opinion Leaders with the necessary negotiation skills, so that they can effectively negotiate with investors in a win-win bases.
  
• For Communities to embark on Afforestation and Reforestation activities.
  
• Communities to acquire disaster preparedness knowledge and climate change mitigation strategies as well as coping strategies.
  
• To acquire adequate Land Conservation skills for effective land conservation for increase agricultural productivity

In line with the New Direction, Medium-Term National Development 2019–2023. This project seeks to complement government efforts under cluster one – Human Capital Development in the area of education through Adult Literacy, and Cluster seven addressing vulnerability and building resilience under the following

• Building national environmental resilience- through Afforestation and Reforestation activities and climate change mitigation Forestry Management and wetland conservation-through forest preservation, protection and land conservation for improve and increase agricultural production
  
• Improving disaster management governance through disaster preparedness and coping strategies