By James Baimba
The Deputy Minister of Justice honorable Napoleon Koroma being passionately zealous about president Bio’s proclamation during the State Opening of the fifth parliament of the Republic of Sierra Leone, urging all public servants to have a farm in order to boost locally produced food stuff, the astute and dynamic Minister had made an indelible redemption on the lives of the people of Nieni Chiefdom, Koinadugu District by boosting rice farming and mitigating the perennial hunger constraints faced by indigenes in that part of the country. As a devotee of an indefatigable service to his people and also being a son of the soil, the Minister napoleon Koroma ESQ has taken the vim and vigor in redeeming his people of Nieni Chiefdom by cultivating an overwhelming acreage of 50 acres of rice farming with the motive of eliminating the marathon hunger situation faced by the people of Nieni Chiefdom Koinadugu District.
Honorable Deputy Minister Napoleon Koroma ESQ aligns his unflinching zero hunger campaign with goal two (2) of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which preaches about zero hunger campaign across the world, and particularly for underdeveloped Africans countries which Sierra Leone pitifully happens to be one. Goal two (2) of the SGD indicates that the number of people who suffer from hunger as measured by the prevalence of undernourishment has begun to increase with a current estimate which shows that nearly six hundred and ninety million people are hungry. It further states that the world is not on track to achieve zero hunger by 2030, adding that if recent trends continue, the number of people affected by hunger would surpass eight hundred and forty million by 2030.
Also a recent survey done by the World Food Programme (WFP) reiterates that one hundred and thirty-five million people suffer from acute hunger largely due to man-made conflicts, climate change and the economic downturns, alluding that the covid-19 pandemic could now double the aforementioned number by putting additional one hundred and thirty million people at risk of suffering from acute hunger by the end of 2020. Thus, increasing agricultural productivity and sustainable food production are very crucial to help alleviate the hazards of hunger which exactly what the Minister has stanched himself and made additional commitment to re-double the acreage to one hundred (100) acres of farm land that will include other food stuff like cassava, sweet potato, yam etc.
Also Inspired by the American adage which says, ‘’don’t ask what your country has done for you, but what you have done for your country? Napoleon Koroma ESQ has patriotically made a thoughtful consideration especially during this crucial moment when the country’s socio- economic fabric has been put to a standstill, to come in and find remedial action that would cushion the effect of hunger pandemic face by his people through massive rice cultivation. He therefore over the weekend engaged in a mammoth rice harvesting for the consumption of the Nieni people in Koinadugu District. The most gratifying aspect is the use of a gigantic machinery called combined harvester during the harvesting of the rice. it was like a nightmare for the people of Nieni Chiefdom because that was their first-time experience to see a combined harvester used for mechanized farming like the one done by Napoleon Koroma.
In his euphoric gratification, the Regent Paramount Chief of Nieni Chiefdom Frank Kamara showered endless praises on the Minister for what he considered as an historic record in terms of large-scale mechanized farming not only for Nieni Chiefdom, but for Koinadugu District as a whole. Frank Kamara together with the people of Nieni Chiefdom alluded that their son Napoleon Koroma is their God sent Moses who has come to redeem them from the acute hunger pandemic and the recurrent economic strangulation the chiefdom is faced with. They therefore commended President Bio led New direction government for promoting their true son of the soil and appealed for supports in terms of machineries so that they could lead in locally consumed food productivity.
