The
Ministry of Agriculture and Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) on Monday
13 January 2020 inked a USD480,000 project at a ceremony held at the Ministry
of Agriculture conference room in Banjul. The funding was provided by FAO under
the Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP) entitled: ‘Mapping of the Human
Resources Capacity Gap and Strengthening Capacity of the Ministry of
Agriculture.’
Speaking
at the ceremony, the FAO representative in The Gambia, Madam Shibu Rampedi,
said the world cannot afford to be the generation that does not address hunger,
food insecurity and malnutrition. Madam Rampedi said the United Nations is this
year launching what she called a Decade of Action to end hunger. She called on
political leaders to act by implementing the Maputo Declaration for Africa and
promoting the Zero Hunger campaign.
“…food
security is not charity, but the indispensable means for realising the right to
food and nutrition security,” Madam Rampedi said. The FAO country
representative pointed out that her organisation is committed to supporting
Member States by providing data and information analysis based on its technical
expertise and long experience. She reiterated FAO’s commitment to work with the
government of The Gambia, through the Ministry of Agriculture and partners in
shaping the future with a lasting impact.
“We
will support The Gambia by providing technical expertise on food and
agriculture, forestry and fisheries … to achieve the National Development Targets
and the Sustainable Development Goals,” Rampedi promised.
The
FAO country representative said the two years TCP would strengthen the
capacities in the Planning Service Unit of the Ministry of Agriculture and also
pave the way to access resources from the government and funds in trust with
development agencies. The programme is also expected to lay a foundation for
enhanced system development of skills and knowledge in various specialised
disciplines as well as agreement with other developments in the Agriculture and
Natural Resources sector.
The
Honorable Minister for Agriculture Amie Fabureh, applauded FAO for its
foresight. She said data has always been a challenge in agriculture, and
according to her, the ministry wants to transform agriculture into
commercialised business. Hon. Fabureh highlighted that without a full-fledged
planning department, it would be difficult to have sufficiency in food
production.
The
ceremony was chaired by the permanent secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture
Momodou Mbaye Jabang and attended by senior officials from both the Ministry of
Agriculture and FAO.
