JoBecks Farms A conversation with our own Josie Babatunde Beckley, Co-Owner & Chief Farmer of JoBecks Farms (SL) Limited

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Last updated: 2021/09/20 at 8:59 AM

By Sallu Kamuskay Published September 20, 2021 403 Views 13 Min Read

13 Min Read

JoBecks Farms A conversation with our own Josie Babatunde Beckley, Co-Owner & Chief Farmer of JoBecks Farms (SL) Limited

JoBecks Farms A conversation with our own Josie Babatunde Beckley, Co-Owner & Chief Farmer of JoBecks Farms (SL) Limited

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal to “End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture” (SDG2) recognizes the interlinkages among supporting sustainable agriculture, empowering small farmers, promoting gender equality, ending rural poverty, ensuring healthy lifestyles, tackling climate change, and other issues addressed within the set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals in the Post-2015 Development Agenda.

Beyond adequate calory intake, proper nutrition has other dimensions that deserve attention, including micronutrient availability and healthy diets. Inadequate micronutrient intake of mothers and infants can have long-term developmental impacts. Unhealthy diets and lifestyles are closely linked to the growing incidence of non-communicable diseases in both developed and developing countries.

Adequate nutrition during the critical 1,000 days from beginning of pregnancy through a child’s second birthday merits a particular focus. The Scaling-Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement has made great progress since its creation five years ago in incorporating strategies that link nutrition to agriculture, clean water, sanitation, education, employment, social protection, health care and support for resilience.

Extreme poverty and hunger are predominantly rural, with smallholder farmers and their families making up a very significant proportion of the poor and hungry. Thus, eradicating poverty and hunger are integrally linked to boosting food production, agricultural productivity and rural incomes.

Agriculture systems worldwide must become more productive and less wasteful. Sustainable agricultural practices and food systems, including both production and consumption, must be pursued from a holistic and integrated perspective. Source: Sustainable Development Goals

Born and grew up in Freetown Josie Babatunde Beckley (Josie B.) is Sierra Leonean Chief Farmer working to feed Sierra Leone. He is the Co-Owner & Chief Farmer with JoBecks Farms (SL) Limited. Josie Babatunde Beckley holds B. A Mathematics Wabash College, Crawfordsville, IN USA, B.A. Economics, New Jersey City University, Jersey City, NJ USA, Dip. Accounting Lethbridge College, Lethbridge, AB Canada, MBA, Global Mining Management & Strategic Management Schulich School of Business, Toronto, ON Canada. Josie Babatunde Beckley attained his primary, junior, and senior secondary schools education from Tower Hill Municipal School, Sierra Leone Grammar School, Gambia Senior Secondary School respectively.

Josie B. grew up in Wellington on a poultry farm that his mother used to run. His mother took over the farm from her father who was a Farmer and Fisherman. Josie Babatunde Beckley always enjoyed working on the farm and tending to the birds they had.

JoBecks Farms (SL) Limited is a growing poultry farming business that has four focus areas – raising broiler chickens to meet the demand for poultry meat, layers chickens to meet the market demand for poultry eggs, poultry feed production and supply, and related businesses. Their ultimate goal is to meet the demand for fresh, healthy, nutritious locally produced poultry products in Sierra Leone.

Before taking over Jobecks Farms, Josie Babatunde Beckley has previously worked in the US and Canada as an accountant in various industries going from software technology, logistics, oil and gas, and mining. his most recent position was as a Leadership and Management consultant with Aspen Management Partners in Health where he worked as a Management Partner attached to the CH/EPI Program of the Ministry of Health and Sanitation in Sierra Leone.

Josie Babatunde Beckley, Chief farmer took us through his journey during an exclusive interview on our conversation with leaders from works of life.

Sallu Kamuskay: You are the founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) JoBecks Farms? What would you say enable you to set this initiative?
Josie B.: I am not necessarily the founder of JoBecks Farms. I took over from my mother, who took over from her father. She has been a great supporting pillar in getting things up and running and a great adviser to the business. The brand – JoBecks – is nonetheless a name my aunt used to call me as a child growing up. I find it unique as no one else ever called me that and she has all my life called me JoBecks. And because of that uniqueness, I chose the name JoBecks.
I don’t consider myself a CEO. I prefer the term, Chief Farmer. It’s more practical for the work we do. We are farmers. I am proud to be a farmer. I love poultry farming. My team members are farmers. What we do is poultry farming and we do what we do proudly.

I returned home in 2018 after several years abroad to explore an opportunity to work in Sierra Leone. My plan was to move back to Canada after two years. During that time, I was amazed by the influx of large quantities of imported poultry eggs and meat in the market. Finding locally produced eggs in supermarkets was hard. There are many small poultry farms in the country. Discussing with many people, I heard lots of complaints about the quality of the eggs and chickens in the market and how they struggle to find good quality local poultry products.

I saw this as an opportunity to invest in something that I know and always loved – poultry farming – local poultry production to meet the demand. Having practical experience and knowledge of poultry farming, it was more of trying to understand ways of tackling the challenges faced in the industry and exploring the opportunities available.

Sallu Kamuskay: Tell us about the services the JoBecks Farms offer and where are your operation areas?
Josie B.: We currently have 2 locations – Wellington and Songo.
At wellington, we do broilers for meat production whereas at Songo, we do layers for egg production. Because of the challenges of the availability of feed ingredients locally, we currently import poultry concentrates for operational and commercial purposes.

Sallu Kamuskay: Before setting up these farms, where have you worked before and what position did you hold?
Josie B.: Most of my work experiences have been in the US and Canada and worked as an accountant in various industries going from software technology, logistics, oil and gas, and mining. My most recent position was as a Leadership and Management consultant with Aspen Management Partners in Health where I worked as a Management Partner attached to the CH/EPI Program of the Ministry of Health and Sanitation in Sierra Leone.

Sallu Kamuskay: Reflecting on your childhood or early youthful age, what was/were the difficult things you did to survive, acquire education, or any of your dream?
Josie Babatunde Beckley: I can’t speak on difficulties things I had to do to survive. I am grateful my parents could do all the worrying to ensure that we as children didn’t have to worry about the difficult things. We were not priviledged, but we were satisfied.

Sallu Kamuskay: How would you count on the impact of your in fighting any of the Sustainable Development Goals?
Josie B.: Poultry is of increasing importance in Sierra Leone especially in the expanding urban areas such as Freetown. The increasing population growth and rapid urbanization have seen the demand for poultry products increase, being some of the least expensive sources of animal protein. Fresh poultry eggs and meat has been a challenge in Sierra Leone due to the lack of adequate local poultry production to meet the market demand. This has given rise to the high level of importation of eggs and poultry meat.
This high dependency on importation of our necessities pose a challenge to the country’s quest to feed itself and achieve food security which is part of the United Nations Sustainable Development goals. This also means that our country will never be able to sustain itself in times of emergency and continue to depend on aid in times of need. This has been quite apparent during the current COVID-19 pandemic where the country saw the price of eggs rise by 35% because of restrictions put in place to curb the spread of the coronavirus worldwide. JoBecks Farms is seeking to build our production capacity to support the country’s quest to achieve SDG 2, support the development of related industries and businesses that will create jobs, increase tax revenues for the country and ultimately support all-around economic growth.

Sallu Kamuskay: How can you be reached? Your social media platforms and website?
Josie B.: Ans: Phone +232 31 678 999 | +232 75 439 999
Facebook: jobecksfarmssl | Twitter: jobecks3 | LinkedIn: JoBecks Farms (SL) Limited

Sallu Kamuskay: What do you do for fun?
Josie B.: That’s an interesting question because I try to do a lot. I love gardenin. One thing I also took from my mom. I spend time in my garden at home most weekends. I like to hang out with friends, what sports, play video games,… just the nomal things.

Sallu Kamuskay: What would be your message to Sierra Leoneans?
Josie B.: Sierra Leone currently face high food shortages as a result of our lack of agricultural productivity. Most importantly most people that venture into agricultural activities, do so mainly for export purposes rather than for local consumption. Well one thing is certain – we all need to eat. Therefore, we need to do more and invest in farming and farming related value added services to support local consumption and deviate from the dependency of importation to supply our basic food necessities. Export production is good, it brings much needed foreign exchange revenues but without sustainable production for local consumption, all the foreign currencies received are lost to importation. This has a big impact on the value of our currency, on the inflation rates and basically on our livelihood. With sustainable local agricultural production and consumption, no country will thrive. For poultry to be successful in Sierra Leone, we need more investment in crop farming especially in grains such as maize (corn), soybeans, sorghum, etc. We need more fishing for our sources of animal protein. We need more technical skills training on agricultural related programs, and development of associated industries. Let us all work together to support agricultural development in Sierra Leone. Remember, “No Farmer, No Food!”.
Support #FeedingSalone #ProducedInSalone #EatLocal #EatFresh #SaloneFreshProduce

Buy from them, Follow his social media handles below

LinkedIn: Josie B

Facebook: Josie B

Twitter: Josie B

Farm: JoBecks Farms

Email: jobecksfarms@gmail.com

TAGGED: : Sustainable Development Goals, JoBecks Farms, Josie Babatunde Beckley, Salone Messenger

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By Sallu Kamuskay

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Sallu Kamuskay is a Sierra Leonean communication strategist, fixer, blogger, youth organiser, event manager, spokesperson, and public relations expert. His work has been regularly referenced and published by national and international media and public policy institutions. Sallu Kamuskay was a child during the brutal war in Sierra Leone. Growing up in the midst of conflict, Sallu witnessed unimaginable abuse of children and gross violations of human rights. The horrors he witnessed during the Civil War had a terrible impact on him at a very tender age. But despite the shock of the war, Sallu never lost hope. He started on a journey of recovery, studying, and working for a better future. At age 15, Sallu entered into the world of activism and advocacy. Sallu Kamuskay was the Vice President of the Young Leaders Organisation, a member of the National Youth Council. The Young Leaders is one of the oldest youth-led organisations in West Africa. The organisation was formed by a group of young leaders, and launched by the then Head of State/President of Sierra Leone. Sallu was part of the group of young leaders who participated in and contributed to the establishment of the National Youth Council. The Commonwealth supported the training for trainers programme with line ministries and youth stakeholders in which key, representatives of youth council, student union and civil society/private sector youth platforms were engaged and empowered in the effective engagement and inclusion of youth. Sallu is co-founder and Executive Director of the Salone Messenger, a global multimedia and public relations firm based In Sierra Leone. Sallu has worked on various developmental and policy issues such as Poverty, Climate Change, Human rights, Child Rights, Education, Health, Gender Equality, Civic Engagement, Government policies, Information Communication Technology for Development and the Sustainable Development Goals, and has also been contributing to various global events and advocacy campaigns. Sallu Kamuskay is the co-founder and Executive Director of the Salone Messenger, a global Multimedia and Public Relations Firm based in Sierra Leone with the latest news and information, on top stories, business, politics, entertainment, and more. Sallu is working with a leading technology company in Africa, Techfrica, that has recently developed and launched a social media, messaging Supfrica with over 150,000 downloads on the Google play store in less than 4 days. He is the Adviser and Media coordinator for the App to give people the platform to connect and communicate to help shape their future with a very fast internet that allows users that live in deprived and hard-to-reach areas with poor internet facility to be able to communicate as it allows and stronger on 2 and 3 G network reception. Sallu has over 9 years of experience in youth engagement, inclusion, and coordination both at local and global levels, giving voice to young people and engaging young people to build a better world. He has served as coordinator for the Wave Alliance which brought together youth-led organisations who attended an international training in South Africa organized by the International Organization – Waves for Change. Sallu is working with the MLT, Waves For Change, and the Government to develop safe spaces for young people, with a view to contributing to the overall development goals of young people including health, as well as to community rebuilding. Sallu is currently the Programme Director for the Wave Alliance, which is a coalition of youth-led and community-based organisations that have successfully introduced evidence-based Surf Therapy programs to young people in communities, with a focus on mental health, peace building and sustainable development. Sallu is currently the focal point and face of Africa’s Faces Social media platform which is a global Social media platform that brings together people from across the world to share their moments, connect, share videos, and interact with friends giving more preference to excluded continents like Africa. Sallu Kamuskay has devoted his time to working for or contributing to a number of national and international organizations and companies, including the Techfrica Technology Company, United Nations, ECOWAS, European Union, Commonwealth Africa Initiatives. This work has led him to travel to a number of countries to contribute to global youth platforms. Sallu is the lead Coordinator for Peace Tour programme, an initiative supported by the European Union, Africa Union, ECOWAS focusing on uniting and empowering young people and local communities. Over the years, Sallu Kamuskay has been using his Techno phone to be able to tell stories, the phone he used to tell the story of Gbessay during Ebola who was admitted at one of the Ebola treatment centers after rumors that she had Ebola when the actual sickness was ulcer, she was almost abandoned at the treatment canter with no medication provided to her. She could have died. Sallu told the story via social media and was able to secure funding from the United Sierra Leone to buy her medication and advocated for her. She was later discharged and taken home, He did the same to a patient that died and was abandoned in the street, Sallu Kamuskay used his phone and shared the message across, the corps was later taken and buried. It could have been more disaster without his voice. The story of late America Stress 3-year-old daughter. The hero’s daughter was abandon after his father's death. He shared her sad story and was able to get a sister who has taken the child as her own and is currently providing her with educational support. The article of America Stress can be read on the link below http://ayvnewspaper.com/index.php/k2-categories/item/7350-america-stress-a-hero-to-recognize. Sallu Kamuskay feels the stories of Gbessay, America stress and that of many others need to be told. The media house we have cannot better tell these stories, they are better reporters than telling human interest stories. He created the Salone Messenger platform and brought together passionate storytellers to be able to tell these compelling stories.