Rural development projects financed and supported by IFAD expanded access to rural finance and increased agricultural production in Sierra Leone, despite the civil war (1991-2002) and Ebola epidemic (2014-2015), according to a new report released today.

The Independent Office of Evaluation of IFAD and the Government of Sierra Leone are holding a half-day workshop in Freetown to share the findings of the independent evaluation of IFAD’s country strategy and programme for Sierra Leone.

About 34,000 vulnerable rural households in Sierra Leone will benefit from a new US$72.6 million project that aims to improve food and nutrition security and raise the incomes of smallholder farmers by modernizing agriculture, increasing production and developing markets.