The
director general at the Department of Agriculture under the Ministry of
Agriculture (MOA) has disclosed that the Ministry has deposited nearly seven
million dalasis at the Central Bank of The Gambia to be used for the purchase
of fertilizer in the upcoming rainy season.
Sahiou Sanyang made this disclosure recently
during an interview with the media, on the sidelines of the handing over of
farm implements to farmers in Central River Region by President Barrow.
“As
at now the actual amount that we deposited to the CBG is close to D7M. So we
are going to use that fund to buy fertilizer in the upcoming season so that the
issue of fertilizer will be the thing of the past”.
To
that end, DG Sanynag indicated that the Department of Agriculture and its line
ministry are ready to address the concerns of farmers in terms of timely
delivery of fertilizer to boost their productivity.
This,
he added, is all geared towards boosting agricultural production and
productivity in the country.
DG
Sanyang recalled that last year the price of a bag of fertilizer was not
expensive because it was supplied at a subsidized price.
“For
instance, the fertilizer that we supplied to the farmers was at a cost of seven
hundred dalasi per bag. During the last rainy season, fertilizer was available
from our level of Ministry of Agriculture to the level of Gambia Groundnut
Corporation level.”
The
department, he went on, even identified outlets which includes farmers’
cooperative and farmers’ association to be responsible for the sale of these
fertilizer at a cost of seven hundred
dalasis per bag.
“From
that amount farmers were given D50 percent commissions and the six-hundred and
fifty dalasis (D650) goes to the Ministry as a revolving fund. We want to
ensure that fertilizer is available and affordable to all farmers all year
round”.
The
Ministry, he added, will also be handing over farm implements to an additional
93 selected communities in the country, adding that that is all geared towards
enhancing the capacity of farmers with latest mechanized farming tools, which
he said, would greatly address daily drudgery experienced by farmers in rural
Gambia.
