[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzwblzjR2pA&w=560&h=315]
Recently Melanie Bateman of CABI Switzerland and Dr IMO Shamie, Sierra Leone’s Director of Crops and Plantwise National Coordinator, had the unique opporunity to sit down for a meeting with Sierra Leone’s Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Security, Dr Joseph Sam Sesay. During the meeting, Dr Sesay told his story of being the first customer at a plant clinic in Sierra Leone, and he gave some strong words of support for the Plantwise programme.
The original goal this year with Plantwise operations in Sierra Leone had been to train plant doctors in order to support the establishment of 10 new plant clinics. But through the efforts of Dr Shamie and the Ministry of Agriculture, as well as the valuable support of the Global Agriculture Food Security Programme, additional resources were secured in order to open almost three times that number. In the coming weeks, top CABI staff from Nairobi and the UK will be following up with Dr Sesay and officials in Sierra Leone to support the expansion and backstopping of clinics throughout the country.
Video courtesy of Margaret Mulaa, CABI Africa
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