By Adama Makasuba
Farmers in the Gambia are in the advanced stage of preparations for the new farming season despite poor sales last year.
They complained about not making profit due to the poor purchase of their groundnuts by the government in the past farming season.
Speaking to The Voice in the northern part of The Gambia, farmers expressed dismay about the last farming season but hope for productive cropping season this year.
Mamadou Bah, a farmer said: “I sold my groundnuts in Senegal because the government was not willing to buy our groundnuts. However, I heard that government paid those farmers that sold their groundnuts to them by installments.”
Mr Bah, who is the breadwinner of his family, lamented about what he described as “government negligent of farmers” as worrisome, adding they have no means to feed themselves apart from farming.
Musa Bayo, 30, said: “the past farming season was very boring because we sat for almost two months before government paid us our monies which were very bad.”
He said many farmers sold their products in Karang, Senegal, adding that “as a breadwinner one can’t toil for four months without benefiting from it.”
Musa Touray, a father of four, said: “The past farming season was abnormal because we were fooled by the government.”
Mr Touray said amidst desperation, he went to sell his groundnuts in Senegal on his donkey cart, adding that he has no one to help him but only depended on what he harvested from his farm.
Alhagie Mama Jallow, who ventures into petty trading to supplement his farming income, said he had to venture into the business because of the government’s late payment after he took his products to the sekos.
Abdoulie Bayo said: “we took loans to buy foodstuffs like rice and when we sold our groundnuts in Senegal, we in turn paid back the loans. Definitely only God knows the pain we farmers are going through in this country.”
He said government only make empty promises to farmers during political campaigns, adding” but government doesn’t care about us.”
Many of the farmers who have commenced clearing their farms depend on subsistence farming for their livelihoods. And the most popular crops in the country are groundnut, millet and rice.
About 60% of the Gambian populace lived on agriculture, yet, it is among the neglected sectors in the country.
