Held at the conference room of the Agriculture Ministry’s Central Projects Coordinating Unit (CPCU) in Banjul, the occasion drew irrigation engineering specialists, civil engineering, surveyors, and land development and agriculture experts.
Mod A. Secka, Permanent secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture, presided over the review meeting and commended the Malaysian firm and the technical taskforce for their remarkable effort.
“We have set ourselves a target as a nation to be self-sufficient in rice by 2030. We cannot accept anything less,” he affirmed, urging stakeholders to keep up the momentum, as the output would be used for other future projects.
Fafanding Fatajo, Regional Rice Value Chain Development Project (RRVCDP) director, conveyed satisfaction over the outcome of the topography survey and all the related assessments.
The Gambia's rice value chain faces challenges such as insufficient access to land and water resources. Over 80% of rice consumption is imported, negatively impacting the national trade balance and economy.
To address this, the Gambia Government, through RRVCDP, commissioned a comprehensive Topography Survey of an area of 3,265 in CRR north and south and in URR. Conducted by Aerodyne Group, state-of-the-earth drone technology was utilised.
A detailed assessment and design of Pump/Tidal irrigation system and feeder roads measuring 50KM linking communities and rice fields to markets, as well as the development of technical specification and bill of quantities for the purpose of tendering were also conducted.
RRVCDP, a five-year project, involves USD29.8 million loan co-funded by the Islamic Bank (IsDB) through the Lives and Livelihood Fund , Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development (ISFD), Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA), and the Gambia Government.
The project aims to reduce rice importation, enhance economic growth, and improve production, processing, marketing, and private sector participation.
