Agro-biodiversity Research in Post-war Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone is a CBDC partner country which had been at war from March 1991 to November 2002 as a rebel group, the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) attempted to dislodge all forms of central government. Successive governments battled with the insurgents who adopted different methods to disrupt the proper functioning of any administration. The conflict involved all ethnic groups and resulted in an estimated 50,000 deaths, most of whom were civilians. Many others faced body mutilations of one form or another, which brought the conflict to the scale defined as the "most brutal war in recent times" at a UN summit. As many as half a million people fled to neighboring countries to escape mutilation and death, and they remained in refugee camps for long periods. Many thousands more were displaced internally, fleeing their homes to hide in wooded areas or to towns where there was some degree of protection. 

After several setbacks, the 11-year conflict came to an end in 2002 with the support of the UN peacekeeping force and contributions from the World Bank and International Community. This lead to the demobilization and disarmament of the RUF and Civil Defense Forces (CDF) combatants.

Alongside the loss of human lives and property of economic value, the general biodiversity status in the country is believed to be affected in many ways. The largest employment sector being agriculture, it is assumed that the displacement of large numbers of the farming community may have resulted in the alteration of the general agro-biodiversity structure in the entire country. 

The present study, conducted in collaboration with the CBAN, is an attempt to investigate the shape of agro-biodiversity within Sierra Leone after the war, with specific focus on rice, sorghum and vegetable crops.