February 8, 2023

Qatar signs US$13 million agreement to expand poultry sector in Sierra Leone and The Gambia

Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD), a Qatari public development institution, has signed a US$13 million agreement with the World Poultry Foundation (WPF) to expand the poultry sector in Sierra Leone and The Gambia over five years under the African Poultry Multiplication Initiative (APMI), Gulf Times reported.

Under this partnership, poultry production in Sierra Leone and The Gambia is expected to increase by up to 200% compared to local indigenous breeds for over 100,000 small-scale producers.

Khalifa al-Kuwari, the Director-General of QFFD, said these poultry production systems will not only help resource-poor areas, but will also play a massive role in providing livelihood essentials to vulnerable groups and providing households with income and nutritionally rich food sources.

He said the agreement builds on QFFD's previous efforts to support food security and climate change. Last year, the Qatar Fund for Development collaborated with Bill and Melinda Gates to launch the Nanmo initiative, which invests in climate-adaptive agriculture tools and technologies for small scale African producers.

Small-scale poultry farming is a crucial aspect of agriculture in Africa, with over 70% of smallholder farmers engaged in the practice. Notably, 80% of these farmers are women. To run a successful poultry operation, these farmers require access to essential resources, including high-quality poultry, balanced feed, technical training, financial services, and efficient market linkages.

APMI was established in 2017 by WPF to address these challenges. To date, the programme has achieved significant milestones, including the distribution of 97.5 million day-old chicks and the registration of over 13,000 new brooder units, reaching nearly 2.4 million small-scale producers in Nigeria, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe.

Working with private sector partners, the APMI program incentivises the development of poultry markets in rural areas where access to high-quality inputs is limited.

-      Gulf Times