By Mama A. Touray
Jahally Pacharr rice farmers in the Central River Region have spoken on their suffering saying the government efforts putting toward rice farming are not enough but needs to do more to rescue the rice farming situation in the country.
To ascertain their complaints they implored journalists to always pay visits to the rural areas, see how farmers are suffering there and they will know what to write about farming as this will help them to confirm their statements about their suffering on the farms.
Speaking to this medium in an interview at the rice field in CRR, Jankey Janko, a native of Kerewan Samba Sira, said the women came to the rice field for sustenance as their husbands cannot do everything alone considering the high cost of living in the country.
According to her, she said they are not achieving any profit apart from difficulties and it is creating a gap in their function at home.
Jankey Continued: “The inadequate of farm machines, fertilizers and the inefficiency of the regional agricultural directorate are causing a setback in our rice cultivation and I urge the government to intervene and support”.
Gibbi Bah also a rice cultivator at the Jahally Pacharr rice field said “The agric department in Sapu is not fit for purpose because when visitors come they are taken to private farms because those farms have access to adequate and modern farming equipment. They do this to avoid the visitors holding them accountable. This situation is not encouraging because the government is putting no effort towards the development of agriculture”.
Like other farmers, he appealed to journalists to leave the urban areas for rural areas to see how farmers are suffering.
Mumenie Jallow is also a farmer, he said their going to the rice field has no benefit as the plots of rice don’t have adequate water supply which delayed their plans for cultivation. This, he said, has made them abandon almost 200 plots of rice fields.
She added that the issue of machines and fertilizers is another difficult task they continue to encounter while he quickly called on the government to support women especially the farmers of Jahally and Pacharr.
For his part, Abdou Boye a native of Fass Abdou said he doesn’t own a rice field but all he does every farm season is to rent a plot or half which cost D4,000 and D2,000 respectively.
He added that after renting it, he also gets tractors for tillage which is very difficult to have because of its insufficiency.
“Lack of fertilizers is also another problem you can’t farm without fertilizers, and without it, your crops will not do well. A bag of fertilizer is costing D2800 which is even higher than a bag of rice itself and you are expected to apply four bags of fertilizers. So, if you cannot afford it what will you farm,” he asked.
He also appealed to the government to support farmers especially rice cultivators in the Central River Region for better growing of rice.