By: Momodou Justice Darboe
The Gambia Groundnut Marketing Corporation (GGMC) currently owes no financial liabilities to farmers as the corporation injected D1.5 billion in the 2023/2024 groundnut trade season.
This revelation was made by the Deputy Managing Director(DMD) of GGMC, Lamin L. Sanyang, in a press conference held at the GGC HQ in Saaroo on Wednesday.
Last year, Gambia’s groundnut farmers saw a massive improvement in yields as the cash crop performed extremely better than the previous cropping season thanks to a highly subsidized and superior quality fertilizer that the Gambia government supplied to farmers.
In 2022, the GGC purchased 20,000 metric tonnes of groundnut nationwide but this figure jumped to 36,000 tonnes in 2023/2024.
The corporation has partnered with the AGIB to facilitate the payments for farmers’ peanuts at the attractive farm gate price of D38,000 per metric tonne as compared to the 2021/2022 trade season when a metric tonne was traded at D36,000.
The GGC also paid a D40 million commission to groundnut- buying points or seccos for handling the corporation’s groundnut.
“As we speak, we settled all the amount across The Gambia. For the past two weeks, we invited all Seccosinvolved in credit-buying for [accounts] reconciliation. Out of the Seccos crying over credit buying, only 40 Seccosresponded. Thirty-four were paid and six Seccos owed us money because of a shortage as a result of the total amount of groundnuts bought from farmers and not deposited and they [Seccos] didn’t want to tell farmers the real story,” explained Mr. Sanyang.
“As far as this corporation is concerned, we don’t owe any CPMS[Secco] any money. I would like to thank the Office of the President, the President himself, AGIB, and all partners,” he added.
Below is a table of money that AGIB disbursed to the seccos:
Bansang Circle:
Fula Banta-D10M Disbursed
286 metric tonnes and 733 kg of groundnut were purchased but only 247 metric tonnes and 950 kg were delivered to the GGC secco.
Santonton Bubu-D7.3M Disbursed
191 metric tonnes and 959 kg of groundnut purchased but only 159 metric tonnes and 930kg were delivered to the GGC secco.
Boiram-D18M Disbursed
493 metric tonnes and 157 kg of groundnut were purchased but only 456 metric tonnes and 500kg were received by the GGC
Sare Soffie-D7.2M disbursed
189 metric tonnes and 17 kg of groundnut were bought but 173 metric tonnes and 570kg were delivered to the GGC.
To be continued….