By Fatou B Cham- Information Officer, MOA
In continuation of the familiarization tour to various Departments and Projects under the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), Honorable Dr. Demba Sabally, minister of Agriculture in his meeting with the Gambia Livestock Marketing Services and the Department of Livestock Services revealed that carbohydrate needs would be well-nourished if our protein resources are in dependable on imports.
With delegation from MoA and the Central Project Coordinating Unit (CPCU), the newly appointed Minister of Agriculture visited the Gambia Livestock Marketing Agency (GLMA) and the Department of Livestock Services on Monday, 23rd May 2022.
According to the Minister, GLMA, and the Department of Livestock Services are a very essential components of the Ministry of Agriculture.
“We are talking about the hunger-free Gambia, it is one thing to be very conscious of, and the carbohydrate need of the country which is rice production will be well-nourished if our protein resources are not depending on foreign soils.
Honourable Dr. Sabally reiterated to all the line departments and units under MoA to work as a team in other to accomplish a common goal. “I urge every one of us to collaborate in what we do, to complement each other’s effort at the farmer level,” he said.
Dr. Demba B Jallow, DG GLMA elaborated on the key function of GLMA which according to him is to establish and manage livestock markets and construct a lease license livestock butchered shops and cases.
“Conduct annually livestock showground during the Muslim feasts to enhance the marketing of livestock and the provision of rams to be affordable and reliable,” he said.
He added that they also determine the price of meat tariffs through consultative forums with dealers, butchers, stakeholders, securities, and local government authorities, for sustainability and realism.
Part of their functions is to also collect fees from dealer permits paid to the consultation fund and collect cattle tax, which we recycle back to the farmer in the form of training, inputs, vaccination, etc.
He explained that the monthly subvention of the agency is usually limited to the effect that they may not be able to rehabilitate slaughterhouses or butcher shops.
“We also face difficulty in registration and ensuring compliance, butchers barely pay their registration fee while farmers do not want to pay their cattle tax,” he said.
According to the DG, seasonal fluctuation in the price of animals is also a challenge since 70% of the animals that are slaughtered in butcher houses are being imported from neighbouring countries which makes it difficult for them to have a reliable supply of animals here especially when the dealers are very poor financially.
The CPCU Coordinator, Abdoulie Touray, informed the gathering that the poor financial status of the dealers is being addressed with a grant by the Small Ruminant project; “they are being supported to obtain cash to run the business.
