By Binta Jaiteh
The Board Director of Agriculture at the Gambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), Sulayman Mboge has said thatagriculture is the most important sector of Gambian economy.
Mr. Mboge revealed this on Friday during a meeting at the GCCI office in Bijilo. The purpose of the meeting was to bring together key stakeholders from various facets of agricultural industry to discuss critical issues, share insights, and collaborate on strategies that can enhance the sector’s growth and sustainability.
“Despite agriculture being the most crucial sector still it is the most neglected sector” he stressed
Mboge said concerns would be recorded so that at the next meeting of the President at the national business council all the concerns couldbe addressed.
According to him, agriculture plays a role in feeding the population. “As a country it is essential to come together to share knowledge and brainstorm solutions to address the challenges facing agriculture like climate change, government policies, cost of production and marketing,” he emphasized.
“We need to have a guaranteed fixed price in the market. If not, I fear that next year there will be scarcity of onions and the price will escalate” he remarked.
Chief Executive Officer of Gambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) Sarata Konatehsaid the forum was more for forging partnerships and exploring innovative solutions.
“I want to know the historical background of agriculture to know how far we have gone on agriculture. Once that is measured we know that innovation plays a huge part of going forward in agriculture. It won’t just be innovation but technology”, she said.
He thanked everyone who attended the meeting, especially the GCCI board director who has extensive knowledge in agriculture to share insight so that the advocacy can be amplified.