#Article (Archive)

Fertilizer Commission resumes sitting

Dec 9, 2011, 1:42 PM | Article By: Malamin Conteh

Sittings of the Fertilizer Commission resumed yesterday at the High Court premises in Banjul with more testimonies heard.

Dr Lamin Marenah told the commission that he acquired a PHd in Agriculture. He said he obtained a bag of fertilizer imported from Indonesia, and observed the label NPK on the bag, indicating the combination of two nutrients.

 He told the commission that he observed that the fertilizer in question was powdery, when it was supposed to be in granular form.

“I did not apply this fertilizer to my crop, because I have no farm. I spoke to Alfu Marong, the then PS No.1 at the Ministry of Agriculture and Dr Mustapha Ceesay of NARI,” he added.

“I raised my concern to them, and told them that the best fertilizer for the Gambians is compound fertilizer. In my entire life, I have never seen a powdery compound fertilizer in that form,” Dr Marenah told the commission.

Dr Marenah added that Dr Ceesay informed him that the laboratory was still in existence, but they could not carry out the fertilizer test there, because they do not have the trained and equipped personnel, and that was why they had to take it to Dakar.

Next to testify was Penda Sanyang-Jarju, a resident of Wellingara, who told the commission that she knew Seedy Jarju as her husband, and that they lived for twenty years.

Penda added Seedy is not in town currently; that he is in Liberia on international employment and she did not know when Seedy is coming back.

She told the commission that she and her husband are still renting, and the only compound her husband has is at Old Jeshwang, adding that she did not want to refuse to receive the summon, but the way and manner in which she was approached made her to refuse the summon.

Sittings of the fertilizer commission continue today.