The National Coordinating Organization for Farmer Association The Gambia (NACOFAG) will Saturday, 20th November, host The West African Regional Caravan on the Struggles for Land, Water and Seeds at The Governor Office ground in West Coast Region.
The event which is the third of its kind is expected to bring together over 175 delegates from 16 Countries of ECOWAS Members State. This was revealed by the NACOFAG Coordinator Alieu Sowe during a press conference held at the NACOFAG office in Brikama last Friday.
He said the theme for the caravan is “Right to Land, Water and peasant agro-ecology, a common struggle”.
Sowe added that the objective of the 3rd edition of the Caravan is to contribute to the strengthening of grassroots communities to engage decision makers to improve policies and legislation with the involvement of traditional customary leaders for inclusive, progressive, fair and equitable governance both at national and regional levels on land, water and seeds.
Musa F Sowe President of NACOFAG explained that the caravan is the third edition as the first one was held in 2016 and second one in 2018 and 25 stakeholders from the Gambia is expected to be part of it.
Sowe noted that the caravan will sensitize communities on the dangers of climate change, artificial seeds (GMOs), pesticides and the need to set up common farmers’ seed banks and adoption of agroecological practices in the respective localities.
He said on the 20 to the 21 November, Gambia will host the event at the Governor office in the West Coast Region, and the caravan will depart from the Gambia, travel through Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea to Sierra Leone, the final destination Country, where the advocacy documents of the CGLTE OA will be handed over to the ECOWAS Chairman.
In addition to that he said “a major workshop will be held to synthesize the activities and debates that took place during the caravan and a final declaration will be issued. The closing ceremony of the caravan will include the official handing over of the advocacy documents to the president of Sierra Leone in Freetown, the final destination Country of the 2021 caravan.”
Other speakers at the event were Njaga Jawo the director of NAWFA and Francise Mendy, director of Caritas.