The British
Ambassador to The Gambia, H.E. David Morley, yesterday visited the oyster farm
projects funded by his office.
The field visit, which began from the Denton Bridge, reached oyster beneficiary communities such as Ebo town, Abuko and Faji Kunda.
The British Embassy earlier on provided TRY Oyster Women Association with 4,150 pounds sterling to develop sustainable oyster production in five communities throughout the Tanbi National Wetlands Park.
The initiative also seeks to teach the different communities how to grow oysters on sustainable bamboo structures located within the river Gambia and eliminating the need for the female oyster growers to harvest and damage the fragile mangrove ecosystem.
The project is set to benefit an estimate of over 300 female oyster growers within the communities of Abuko, Kartong and Faji Kunda as well as in Ebo town.
The new harvesting method is set to increase oyster production by more than 10 times resulting in significantly improved livelihoods for the female oyster growers.
In his remarks, British Ambassador David Morley expressed happiness for visiting the sites and seeing the good work the award-winning TRY Oysters Women Association is doing in promoting sustainable oyster production.
“Today’s visit showed the difference that well researched interventions can make to communities all across The Gambia and I wish the female oyster growers and TRY Oysters lots of future success,” he remarked.
The executive director of the TRY Oyster Women Association, Fatou Janha, said the project consists of fifteen communities with a membership of 500 women.
After five years, she said, The Gambia government has given them the exclusive rights to manage the Tanbi for the fisheries purposes and commended the government for its entrustment in the women.
She said they also ensure that all the mangroves are protected from desertification and outsiders do take permeation from them before harvesting the oyster from the wet land.
She says that they are now encouraging them with the introduction of oyster culture farming which lessons their burden of searching oyster throughout the river.
The chairperson of Abuko oyster farm project, Haddy Jatta, thanked Ambassador Morley for the help extended to them.
Other speakers included Anna Manga of Abuko oyster farm, and Anna Jatta of Faji Kunda oyster farm, who both showed out their appreciation of the initiative.
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