MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND FOOD SECURITY

Dr. Sama S. Monde

Nationality Sierra Leonean

Date of Birth 20 May 1947

Place of Birth: Kayima, Sandoh Chiefdom, Kono District, Sierra Leone

Marital Status: Married to Mrs. Kumba Florence Sama Mondeh
(Born, 15 August 1955)

Four Children: son 23yrs., daughters 20, 18, 9 years

Religion: Christian

Health Good

Physical Limitations: None

Computer Literacy: Good

4. EDUCATION AND QUALIFICATION:

a. Core Training

1981 Ph.D. in Agronomy and Plant Genetics., University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, U.S.A.
1974 M.Sc. in Agricultural Botany( Plant Breeding and Genetics )at the
1975 University of Wales/Welsh Plant Breeding Station, Aberystwyth, Wales, Britain.
1971 B.Sc. (Summa Cum Laude/ First class) Biological Sciences Major, and Education Minor, Njala University College, Njala, Sierra Leone.

b. Other Training

I have attended a number of short term training sessions ranging from one day to three months in the management of agricultural research, seed science and technology, grain legumes and tuber crops breeding, basic radiation protection, and most recently in Harare, Zimbabwe in policy issues concerning plant genetic resources (PGR) management and use. This was a one-week workshop conducted by RAFI in Canada together with local institutions in that country.

5. PROFESSIONAL CAREER

¨ From December 1988 I have served as Director of the Rice Research Station, Rokupr.The first two years were in the acting capacity. Then I was confirmed in March 1990 as the substantive Director.

¨ Rokupr is one the strongest institutions in rice research in the West African region. It had on yearly average 402 workers ranging from Ph.Ds. to laborers.
¨ Rokupr conducts research in several field locations in the country. It also maintains strong collaborative ties with other programs in CG and NARS centers in working towards common objectives.

¨ In the course of the past 14 years I was involved in almost all areas of agricultural research and development in Sierra Leone; in policy formulations, planning and implementation of agricultural development projects. I have been associated with most of the major players in the agricultural sector in the country form the farmers right through the Ministry of Agriculture to NGOs and donor community.

¨ I also served as national counterpart to a number of foreign-funded collaborative projects.

¨ From 1986-88 I served at Rokupr as research officer in Plant Breeding and later rose to Deputy Director in December 1988

¨ From 1971-86 I worked at the Njala University College as lecturer in Plant Breeding and Genetics. That period was punctuated by my studies for the M.Sc., and the Ph.D. degrees.

6. Range of Competencies

The background professional training and the experience I have acquired over the years have accorded me the competencies to contribute positively in these broad areas:

§ University level teaching.

§ Field crops research for crop-development and improvement especially the rice, sorghum roots and tubers etc.

§ Agricultural research management under difficult economic constraints which are common in Africa.

§ Institutional development in Third World situations.

§ Multilateral and bilateral cooperation projects on agricultural development.

§ Project formulation and implementation.

§ Fund raising at national and international levels.

§ Finance management to meet national and international standards.

§ Agricultural policy formulation and implementation.

§ Human resource management to accomplish mandate with minimum resource outlays characteristic of third world countries.

§ Biodiversity Conservation - policy and implementation at national and international levels.

§ Agricultural relief, rehabilitation and development, at community and national levels.

7.AWARDS AND ACHIEVEMENTS
2002 Appointed Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Security in the national Government of Sierra Leone

2001 - Member of the Sierra Leone National Standards Bureau (SLNSB).

2001 - Member of the National Council on Science and Technology, Sierra Leone

2000 - Member of the National Seed Board in Sierra
Leone, February 2000.

2000-2002 - Chairman of the West African, Biodiversity and Law Network (WABILNET) based in IITA, Ibadan, Nigeria, March, 2000.
.
2000 - Member, of Steering Committee of the Sierra Leone Chapter of the West Africa Network on Taxonomy (WAFRINET) based at IITA, Cotonou, Benin in West Africa, May 2000.

2000 - Vice President of the Forum for Science, Technology and the Arts for Development (FORSTAD) based at Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone, Freetown, June, 2000.

2000 - Focal person in Sierra Leone for the FAO Global Plan of Action on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (PGRFA), adopted in Leipzig, Germany, June, 1996.

2000 - Chairman of the African Technology Policy Studies (ATPS) Committee in Sierra Leone with head quarters in Nairobi, Kenya, July 2000

2000 - Member Board of Directors of the National Agricultural Research Coordinating Council, NARCC

2000 - Member of the National Food Rights Campaign Committee in Sierra Leone. A West Africa Regional Advocacy Programme Organized by the British Charity Organization, Action Aid (Sierra Leone), October 2000.

1999 - Member of Editorial Board of the Journal of Agriculture and Rural Development, Sierra Leone.

1996-1999 - Member of the Cabinet sub-committee on Radiation Safety in Sierra Leone.

1996-Present - Consultant, Kono District Agricultural Development Committee.

1994-'96 - Member of Cabinet sub-committee on National Food Security in Sierra Leone.

1994-present - Vice President of the Sierra Leone Agricultural Society (SLAS)

1993 - Present - National Counterpart for International Atomic Energy Agency IAEA/Sierra Leone Project on Improving Rice Productivity through Radioisotope Techniques and Applications.

1992 - Present - National Coordinator for the Community Biodiversity Development and Conservation (CBDC) Project, based in Temuco, Chile.

1992 - Promoted to Chief Research Officer, RRS, Rokupr

1990 - 1996 - Member of the National Crop Protection Committee of Sierra Leone.

1988 -'96 - Member of the Advisory Committee of the International Network for Germplasm Evaluation in Rice (INGER) in Africa, IRRI & IITA, Ibadan, Nigeria.

1988 - Leader of a team of Plant Breeders which developed and released 17 new rice varieties for the various rice ecologies in Sierra Leone in 1988.

Presently scientists at the Station are nominating 15 new varieties to the National Seed Board for release. These varieties form part of the improved technological packages which will contribute to increased production and higher net yields. These achievements have been accomplished during my tenure of office.

1984-Present - National Correspondent for the International Association for Plant Tissue Culture (IAPTC) with Secretariat based at Bet Dagon, Israel.

1976-'81 - African American Institute (AAI) Fellow at the University of Arizona, Tucson, USA. Ph.D. Studies in Plant Sciences - Agronomy and Plant Genetics.

1974 - Operation Crossroads Africa (OCA), African Youth Leadership Programme conducted by OCA and U.S State Department - 10 weeks.

1972 - Commonwealth Fellow at the University of Wales Aberystwyth, Britain - M.Sc. Studies in Agricultural Botany.

1969 - Sierra Leone Government Award to Njala University College. Graduated B.Sc. (Summa cum laude).

8. TRAVELS - Travelled widely in Africa, North and South America, Europe and Asia mostly to represent Sierra Leone in conferences, workshops and consultations on agricultural research and development in Sierra Leone.

9. PUBLICATIONS
Several research and conference papers on crop improvement and agricultural development especially rice in Sierra Leone.

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Sama S. Monde, Ph,D . Date