The
European Union (EU) funded Tekki Fii – a Wolof phrase meaning ‘make it in The
Gambia’ project implemented by the Deutsche Gessellschaft fur Internationale
Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) has begun its one-year ‘Mass Agricultural Cassava’
Production project with a two-day training for 25 selected Cassava out-Growers,
to roll out the ‘Promotion of Market Linkages for Cassava Out Growers’ in
Gunjur.
The
project, per the news release issued by the Cassava Productivity Scheme Project
officials from their Churchill’s Town address on 12 January, 2020, would
promote and popularize cassava production to the youth and women beneficiaries.
The
“Mass Agricultural Cassava Productivity Project” is envisaged to link
industrial users of cassava like Aspuna with six hundred (600) youth farmers in
the Greater Banjul Area, Lower and Upper River regions.
The
one-year project under the overall supervision of GIZ Project Management Team
and in conjunction with stakeholders like the Global Youth Innovation Network
Gambia Chapter (GYIN) Gambia Chapter), National Research Institute (NARI), and
Department of Horticulture Services, would conduct sensitizations and mobilise
youth that are interested in cassava farming in GIZ intervention sites- GBA,
LRR and URR, as stated in the release.
Speaking
at the official opening of the training, Mr. Mamadou Edrisa Njie, Executive
Director of GYIN Gambia who also doubles as the Project Coordinator, said the
role of Office in the project, among others, is to ‘properly’ coordinate its
successful implementation.
Pointing
out that GYIN Gambia as a youth network focuses on rural development, Njie has
no doubt that with his organisation’s experiences in projects and programmes
implementations, “this one-year project will successfully be implemented”.
As
part of the project, the GYIN Gambia boss-cum-Project Coordinator disclosed
that young farmers would be clustered and provided with training on the value
chain. He added that the project would promote and popularize cassava
production to the youth and women beneficiaries.
“GYIN
Gambia Chapter will provide the necessary technical assistance, including
mentoring and business advisory services for project beneficiaries,” declared
the GYIN Gambia head, as stated in the news dispatch made available to Mansa
Banko Online.
For
his part, the Chief Executive Officer [CEO] of Aspuna Gambia Limited [Ltd.] Mr.
Amadou Jah, assured the young farmers that his company is an agro-processing
company that will provide organic fertilizer to the beneficiaries and also
purchase their produce (cassava) in large quantities and process it into flour
and starch.
“Aspuna
involvement in this project is to help Gambian farmers stabilise cassava price
and increase their income in cassava farming,” stated Jah.
The
CEO informed his audience that the project would commercialise the cassava
sector, and that with commercialisation, cassava farmers would increase their
yield as the market is available for them, thus improving the food security
situation in The Gambia.
Mr.
Suwaibou Cham, Senior Private- Public Sector Expert at GIZ told participants
that GIZ is providing the financial and technical support to the project. He
said Aspuna’s role is to buy the cassava in huge quantity to process the
cassava into high quality starch, flour, package and sell it in the country,
and to regional markets as well as to export it to the European Union (EU).
The
GIZ official told the participants that the organisation would cooperate with
all stakeholders in the project, in ensuring that youths are fully engaged; and
the essential support is provided to all stakeholders towards successful
implementation of the project.
