Market Price Information
PEMSD, in collaboration with the World Food Programme and the Rural and Private Sector Development Project (RPSDP), monitors the price trends of key commodities in all districts across Sierra Leone.
Prices are collected by Market Information Officers from daily and periodic markets on a fortnightly basis. RPSDP has provided weighing scales for accurately assessing unit costs, and desktop computers with modems have been provided for data processing and transmission from the districts.
Information is disseminated through fortnightly broadcasts on local radio networks. PEMSD also produces a quarterly market price bulletin that summarises the prices of key commodities and trends over time. The latest bulletin can be found here:Market Bulletin 2011
Mapping Actions for Food and Nutrition Security
The Mapping Actions for Food Security (MAfFS) is a web platform designed to help stakeholders at country, regional and global levels to share information about their investments in food and nutrition security. The web platform will provide immediate and user-friendly access to information about food security and nutrition interventions, allowing users to track and map ongoing actions in order to better programme and coordinate their response to food and nutrition insecurity. MAfFS leaflet

Sierra Leone was selected to be part of the pilot phase for this FAO initiative. The project was implemented by the PEMSD division which oversaw the collection of detailed information on over 80 major food and nutrition security related projects carried out across the country. The results, which are soon to be published, will be available at www.mafsan.org.
More information on the web platform can be found on the FAO's website: www.fao.org/spfs/learning-from-results/maffs/en/
Early Warning Systems
PEMSD is currently heading a multidisciplinary working group to establish an Early Warning System in Sierra Leone. The Division is working alongside ECOWAS, the Permanent Interstate Committee for the Control of Drought in the Sahel (CILSS) and the World Food Programme.

The purpose of implementing the Early Warning System in Sierra Leone is to establish a tool for the early warning of food insecurity and vulnerability at the national and sub-national levels, so as to enhance timely and appropriate policy decision making, effective programme response, and the efficient utilisation of resources.

The Comprehensive Food Security and Vulnerability Assessment

The 2010 Comprehensive Food Security and Vulnerability Analysis (CFSVA) was planned by the Government of Sierra Leone and WFP, in partnership with other organisations in order to

produce reliable baseline data in a postwar context which changes rapidly and needs regular situation monitoring; establish districts and livelihoods more affected by poverty and food insecurity to refine WFP programming targets; and produce an updated reference document for agencies and institutions working with food security in Sierra Leone.

The study's Technical Advisory Group was chaired by PEMSD's Head of Statistics, Mr Mohamed A. Sheriff.

According to the CFSVA 2010 findings, at national level about 2,586,040 persons were found to be food insecure at the time of the data collection, representing 45% of the population. Among them about 373,539 persons (6.5%) were severely food insecure and 2,212,501 persons (38.5%) were moderately food insecure. Rural areas are more affected by food insecurity (54.1%) than urban areas (29.1%). As data have been collected during the beginning of the lean season, these results reflect the situation of households at the start of the most difficult season of the year.

The full report can be found here: Sierra Leone CFSVA 2010