The regional agriculture director for North Bank Region has outlined the importance of building capacity of vegetable growers on the importance of group management, marketing, gender mainstreaming and production planning.
Dr Saikou E. Sanyang was speaking recently at a two-day capacity development workshop for 80 women vegetable growers on year round vegetable production and value chain addition held at Chamen Agricultural and Seed Multiplication Centre.
He said promoting year round vegetable production would increase nutritional supplementation and income.
Dr Sanyang said training farmers on Natural Agricultural Resource Policies would ease effective utilization of technological transfer and enhance the attainment of year round vegetable production and by extension contribute to poverty reduction.
He thanked the West Africa Agriculture Productivity Project and Gambia Agricultural Emergency Support Project for providing funds.
Mustapha Saidy, Deputy Governor, underscores government commitment in food security and livelihood development.
He said capacity development is crucial in the attainment of food production, noting that it would enhance ability to adopt best agricultural practices on vegetable production.
Deputy Governor Saidy hailed the efforts of regional agricultural directorate in Kerewan for strengthening farmer extension workers relations on the transfer of skills and knowledge on production and productivity.
Fatou Ceesay, NBR Women Bureau Programme Officer, said mainstreaming gender into food production would empower producers to increase production and improve livelihood.
She said the training would complement Women Bureau in enhancing gender mainstreaming and boost income through adoption of enhance marketing strategies.
