Stakeholders in the groundnut sub-sector value chain will
today wrap up a three-day forum at the Agricultural Training Centre in Jenoi,
Lower River Region.
The forum, which commenced on Monday, brought together participants from across the country.
The stakeholders meeting was organised by the Agribusiness Services and Producers Association and funded by the International Trade Centre.
The objective of this forum was to identify the challenges confronting the groundnut value chain and map out strategy in addressing those challenges.
It also seeks to promote quality assurance through adequate sensitization training and capacity in the handling of the produce by the producers.
According to official of the agribusiness and producers association, this forum is geared towards enhancing the country’s competitiveness in the export of its products.
As part of the main pillars of the groundnut sub sector, the cooperative plays an important role in the value chain, hence the need to build their capacity to understand the changing trends and dynamic both nationally and internationally.
The forum also involved presentations by key players and institutions within the value chain, followed by discussion on those presentations, suggestions, and recommendations to map out the best strategies in ensuring quality assurance in preparation for the 2012/2013 groundnut marketing season.
The LRR governor, Lamin Darboe, told the participants that groundnut originated from South America and introduced by the Portuguese in the 16th century.He noted that the commercialization of crop has undergone series of transformation.
He stated that the centre of focus of the forum had been on the groundnut value chain analysis in the upholding of quality. He went further to say the biggest challenge confronting the groundnut industry is the volatility in pricing and supply.
Governor Darboe went on to hail the President of The Gambia for his exemplary leadership stance as a farmer and for injecting financial and material support to the agrarian population in The Gambia.
He used the opportunity to thank the International Trade Centre and the Agribusiness Services and Producers Association for funding the occasion.
For her part, Maftei Micaela from the International Trade Centre located in Geneva, Switzerland, stressed the importance of the stakeholder forum.
She said the forum is an opportunity for the farmers to raise their concerns related to the short-term intervention, which needs to be envisaged in order to support groundnut produce processing, marketing and sector organization.
She also urged the participants to take part fully in the three-day forum, while expressing happiness for the opportunity accorded her to participate in the forum.