Thus, to attain any Sustainable Development Goal, it is important that government focuses on investing more in agriculture. The Gambia is blessed with abundant arable land that enhances crop production throughout the year.
Recently, the government announced a farm gate price of D38,000 per tonne for groundnuts, the same rate as last year’s. While there is no increase in price, we commend the government for setting a price higher than that of neighbouring countries, as this will motivate farmers and encourage increased production. However, we urge the government to consider purchasing farmers’ produce on the spot rather than on a credit basis.
Notwithstanding, many Gambian farmers are facing numerous problems, which contributed to the poor quality of groundnuts this year. This has resulted in some registering considerable losses in their businesses and need urgent support to stand on their feet.
Additionally, it is high time the government encouraged farmers to diversify into cultivating other crop varieties. While groundnut remains the predominant cash crop in the country, venturing into maize, rice, or millet cultivation could greatly contribute to achieving food security in the shortest possible time.
From a broader perspective, some businessmen invest millions in foreign exchange. Agriculture should be viewed as a multi-faceted sector rather than being confined to traditional crops like groundnuts or maize. Farmers should explore diverse agricultural ventures to maximize their benefits and unlock the sector’s full potential.
Mr President, in view of the hard realities some farmers are undergoing amid poor quality of farm produce, there should be no buying on credit basis. Government should consider farmers plight and pay for their produce on the spot. This will encourage them and address some of the challenges they encountered during the raining season.
As we have now entered the dry season, warning should be issued out against setting bush on fire. It has become a habit in some parts of the country, especially in the rural areas, for people to indiscriminately set the bush on fire. This practice is not only endangering our forest cover, but it is also putting animals at risk. When the vegetation cover is burnt, most animals such as cattle are forced to enter some nearby territories of Senegal, whereby a significant number of cattle are lost to cattle rustlers.
Thus, it is high time government took a firm stance on the issue by putting hefty fine on those found wanting. To this end, local leaders who implement some of these laws should live up to expectations to deter future occurrences. Constant burning of the forest cover has an adverse effect on the soil. Apart from exposing soil to agents of erosion leading to loss of soil fertility, it also destroys forest reserve, leading to environmental pollution as a result of smoke emission. These are just a few of the ills of bush fire. And this issue even came up in parts of the country during your ongoing Meet the People Tour.
Mr President, the ongoing electricity expansion targeting rural communities is a move in the right direction. Access to affordable and uninterrupted energy is key in any sustainable development endeavour. It also forms part of the country’s broader electricity road map to ensure no community is left behind.
This, we believe, would enable us as a nation to harness our contribution to the country’s development path.
Furthermore, this rural electricity expansion would augment the country’s electricity coverage, thus boosting development initiatives in the rural community.
Recently, the country’s utility giant, NAWEC, announced a major reduction in metre connection fees across all ongoing rural electrification projects. Supported by development partners including the World Bank, the European Union (EU), the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the African Development Bank (AfDB), this initiative is designed to ease access to electricity for rural households, contributing to the Gambia government’s goal of achieving universal electricity access by December 2025.
In view of this fact, we’ve seen significant reduction in meter connection price from a standard GMD 8,500 to a nominal GMD 500 for connections, making electricity more affordable for thousands of rural households.
Good day!