By: Haruna Kuyateh
Mademba Kunda, a groundnut buying point in Upper Nuimi, North Bank Region (NBR) was Wednesday morning at around 4:00am robbed by armed robbers who had taken away a safe believed containing D700, 000.00 money meant for buying of groundnuts from the farmers.
According to the wife, Mrs Fatou Joof, she told the Police Commissioner that the armed robbers attacked the point while they beat the watchman, her husband, and tied him up.
Further to that, Staff of AGIB, SECCO Secretary, the watchman and president were arrested helping the police in their investigations.
Meanwhile, as the groundnut trade season entered 8 days, farmers in the region hailed government through GGC for partnering with AGIB to facilitate payment to farmers. The 2021 trade season farm gate price for a ton was pegged at D28,000 and farmers described it as right move from the government.
Most buying points or locally called SECCO are operational in north bank region and farmers are seeing coming far and wide to the buying points on a daily basis season the start of the trade season.
On different visits to Farafenni, Kerewan, Kuntair and Chilla Jurunku buying points, GGC has been praised for supplied of cash to facilitate crop financing, though was not enough to meet the demand of the people. Farafenni, Kuntair, Ngain Sanjal and Chilla Jurunku are major groundnuts growing areas and are also border with Senegal. However reports gathered indicates high demand for cash supply from AGIB.
However, Sheikh Abas Bah of Toroba launched passionate appealed to GGC to consider reopening of Njawara Cooperative SECCO, noting that the absence contributed in creating more hardship for farmers, lacks of buying point in the area forced farmers to travel 10 kilometers to Kerewan to sell their nuts.