A four-day strategy validation workshop for Cashew and Sesame sectors in The Gambia on Tuesday kicked off at the Paradise Suites Hotel in Kololi.
The Enhance Integrated Framework (EIF) National Implementation Unit (NIU), under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Regional Integration and Employment (MOTIE), in collaboration with the International Trade Center (ITC), jointly organised the synergy.
The project provides specific support for Sesame and Cashew, under component (A) and the key focus is on finding new export opportunities, product diversification, improved value-addition, quality enhancement and strengthened sector support institutions.
Declaring the workshop opened, the deputy Permanent Secretary of MOTIE, Mr. Momodou Lamin Ceesay, said the Sector Competitiveness and Export Diversification Project (SCEDP) is funded by the Enhanced Integrated Framework Trust Fund (EIF IT).
“This strategy design workshop is an important milestone for the achievement of sector development and competitiveness for the Cashew and Sesame sub-sectors,” he stated.
For his part, Mr. Momodou A. Ceesay, the President of Cashew Alliance of The Gambia (CAG), who doubles as the Managing Director of the Gambia Horticultural Enterprises (GHE), said CAG is a national association of all cashew stakeholders, including farmers, processors, traders, government and exporters.
“It was registered as a non-profit organisation in 2010 as the apex body for the cashew industry and to further the interests of the cashew sector in The Gambia and CAG also represent the interest of the African Cashew Alliance (ACA) in The Gambia,” said Ceesay.
According to him, Cashew nut (RCN) export from the Gambian port has increased markedly in recent years with about 65000 tones exported in 2011.
Mr. Charles Roberge, Associate Adviser, Export Strategy at the International Trade Center also spoke at the occasion.
