By: Haruna Kuyateh
To realize more bumper harvests in groundnuts and maize to boost food security and the economy in The Gambia, farmers in Upper Badibou of North Bank Region (NBR) are calling on Gambia government and charitable organizations for more support with modern farming equipment such as tractors and threshing machines as part of mechanize farming.
While calling on government and other philanthropists for more support, the aforementioned farmers also appreciate Gambia Ministry of Agriculture for what they referred to as massive support to farmers.
Alagie Touray, President of Ndimbalente Multi-Purpose Agricultural Cooperative Society of Makka Farafenni informed the public that there is officially registered to respond to the felt needs of farmers acquire household food security through farming diversification and value addition.
President Touray perceived this year’s (2023) farming season as success with bumper harvests and thanked the Ministry of Agriculture for its tremendous support. He tagged the support and decentralization of fertilizer agents and decrease in fertilizer price to D1150 as timely and unprecedented.
He went on to say that farmers in The Gambia depend on entrepreneurs in neighboring Senegal for the processing of their farm produce, adding that Gambia government should also institute groundnuts attractive price system.
Regarding vegetable production, he appealed for more support to embark on vegetable gardens and construction of cold storage facilities to promote the preservation of fresh vegetables for human consumption.