Taiwanese Embassy donates farming items to GAF

The Embassy of the Republic of China (Taiwan) last Friday donated 30 bags of Nerica rice seeds and 95 bags of fertilizer to The Gambia Armed Forces (GAF).

The gesture, which is now becoming a tradition, was done to support the farming activities of the soldiers in the 2011 rainy season. The farming   items were presented at a ceremony held at the Yundum Military Barracks.

The presentation is the embassy’s annual contribution towards complementing the country’s food self-sufficiency drive.

Presenting the items, the Taiwanese ambassador to The Gambia H.E. Richard Shih, told the gathering that the presentation of the seeds and the fertilizer is a commitment of the Taiwanese Technical Mission, the Taiwanese embassy and the people of Taiwan to their resolve at complementing The Gambia’s food self-sufficiency efforts and the country’s upland rice project.

Ambassador Shih assured them of his government’s commitment to the development of agriculture in The Gambia and further challenged the members of GAF to ensure a high yield production this year.

The Chief of Defence Staff of The Gambia Armed Forces, Lt. General Masanneh Kinteh, said Taiwan’s presentation of the seeds and fertilizers and GAF’s participation in farming all geared towards complementing President Jammeh’s food self-sufficiency effort.

“Over the years, GAF has been working with the Taiwanese embassy through its Technical Mission in many areas including agriculture,” said the army chief.

CDS Kinteh commended the Taiwanese embassy for always supporting GAF while making reference to the embassy’s recent donation of over a million dalasi to GAF for the Yundum Barracks rehabilitation project, as part of the support.

He assured the Taiwanese embassy officials and its technical mission that GAF is ready to take the ownership and to lead in the president’s call for people to go back to the land. “We are ready to take the challenge just like how we took it in the past years or even double it,” he pledged.