By Maimuma Sey-Jawo
Gambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) in partnership with the ROOTS project and the Equipment Input suppliers on Tuesday held a roundtable forum discussion at the Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara International Conference Center in Bijilo.
GCCI, as a lead implementer of the Public Private Producer Partnerships (4Ps) financing arrangement, it engaged Financial Services Providers on the Matching Grant window of the project to discuss risks in the sector, exploring financing arrangements and increased service coverage in rural area.
Some of the expected outcome of the roundtable discussion is to introduce the Roots Project to the Financial Services Provider (Gasps) and Equipment service providers, and brief on the 4p arrangements and perspectives of FSPs to finance the beneficiaries of the project through a matching grant arrangement.
Speaking to Journalists, the Acting Deputy CEO of GCCI, Babucarr Saho, said the day roundtable was dedicated in the fact that there is need of inclusion of the private sectors in the Roots project, as access to equipment, and finance remain a big challenge in the country and also commercial farming.
“We came to realize that in the absent of Agricultural input we will not able to attend food security and able to support our able small-holders’ farmers, so that is why we find it necessary to have this roundtable show to Farmers and supplies,” he said.
According to him, there will be a marching grant arrangement that will be put in place where the farmers will identify equipment that they need and this will be variety by the roots project, in term of financial equipment that they need by the project.
Among other outcomes of the discussion is to sign a Memorandum of Understanding between the input suppliers and farmers so that they can have reasonable financial arrangements for farmers to have access to these inputs.
He said the Roots project will go a long way to meet their need as it brings the mind-set of the private sectors.
For his part, Alfu M Sarr a supplier said the project is important to them as 30 percent of it is meant for youths and it is important as farmers to see how farmers commercialize there farming activities, because agriculture without mechanism is poverty.
He emphasised more on the important of the Roots project toward agricultural development in the country and thanked GCCI for coming up with this initiative.
The Project Director of the Roots, Alieu Mamour Jagne, Said the forum is the first engagements of the project with suppliers as the project was launched by the Gambians leader on 9th February, 2021 and expected to wrap up in 2026.
He added, the objective of the six-year project funded by international partners and the Gambia Government at an amount of $80 million to improve food security nutrition and small holders’ farmers, resilience to climate change as well to increase agricultural production and access to market to enhance food security, nutrition and resilience of family farm.
The target beneficiaries are 39 districts in The Gambia, (9) in WCR, 7 in NBR, 6 in LRR 5 in CRR North and 5 in CRR South. He said district selection was based on poverty, vulnerability and remoteness. The project has three components, which is 1 Agricultural productivity adaptation to climate change, 2 accesses to market, and 3 project management institutional developments and citizen engagement.