By: Mustapha Jarju
The President of the Master Farmers Association, Sheikh Drammeh, has asserted that the Gambia’s rainfall quantity is not enough to avert hunger in the country.
Drammeh made this statement during the recent Gambia Farmers’ Congress that brought together farmers from across the country and heads of institutions, including the U.S Ambassador to The Gambia.
The congress was themed Sustainable Agriculture for a Prosperous Gambia.
“Currently in The Gambia, the rainy season lasts for 3 to 4 months and that cannot help reduce hunger and poverty in The Gambia. We need continuous farming both in the rainy season and dry season with the help of a sustainable irrigation system for continuous farming. If we have that and machinery, it will really help us,” Drammeh stated.
He explained that what they saw during one of their tours was intensive labour, primitive toolsand horse carts, adding that those things could not be the solution to the hardship of farmers.
“We are making a pledge for assistance for machinery that will ease our farming like power tillers, tractors, and other types of farming implements with boreholes for irrigation,” he revealed.
Meanwhile, President Drammeh highlighted some of the post-harvest issues farmers face,noting that post-harvest is always a challenge as farmers don’t usually have a place to sell their produce due to lack of access to the market. He,therefore, appealed for processing machines that could help them process and sell their produce quickly.
Drammeh pointed out that they need support forlivestock farming, considering “the fact that The Gambia is always importing sheep and other ruminants from Senegal and Mali which is not sustainable”.
“This is our agenda and we seek support to achieve this. For us to be able to help ourselves,we extend our pleading to the government and the Minister of Agriculture,” Drammeh stated.
The Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture, Mod Secka, gave the assurance of his ministry’s commitment to supporting the farming community.
“We are working tirelessly to improve access to financing, modernize our agricultural infrastructure, and enhance market access for our produce. We will continue to advocate for policies that promote the interests of our nation and the generations that will follow in our footsteps,” PS Secka emphasized.