LRR Farmers Speak Out

In the build-up to this year's rainy season, farmers in Kiang Central district have expressed willingness to make optimum use of the rainy season.

Speaking to one of the farmers in the region in an interview with this reporter, Afang Bakary Darboe expressed his resolve to work harder during this year's rainy season.

He maintained that Kiang Central has never been left behind when it comes to farming. He noted that groundnut and rice need much rain water than it used to.

"So when the rainfall suddenly stops at a time when the crops are in need of water then automatically there would be crop failure. This is the problem of we the farmers," he stated.

According to him, another problem affecting farmers in the region is the lack of enough fertilizer, which he said, affects cash crops, such as groundnut and rice. He added that in some cases "there used to be fertilizer, but the prices are unaffordable for we the poor farmers, and we have nothing but to stay away from it". 

He noted that "if the cost of fertilizer is cheap, surely we would all go in for it".

He used the opportunity to appeal to the government to provide them more fertilizer at a reasonable price.

"Just imagine in the upcountry during the rainy season, it used to be very hard in terms of feeding one's own family, more so to buy fertilizer, which is equivalent to a bag of rice," he concluded.