The consignment was delivered to the beneficiaries at a distribution exercise held at National Food Security, Processing and Marketing Corporation premises at Sarro.
E & P Group is a group that operates in a specific industry providing market driven services to foster growth and development. This initiative is part of the firm’s broader objective to nurture a developed and sustainable agriculture sector thus complementing government’s efforts in the productive sector. The move also seeks to demonstrate the effectiveness of private sector contribution and to allocate resources to enhance production and yields.
The beneficiaries include National Coordinating Organisation of Farmer Association in The Gambia, (NACOFAG), Bakau Women Garden, Sukuta Women Garden and Marketing Federation among a host of others.
At the event, Musa Sowe, president of NACOFAG, described the event as first of its kind that a private sector entity responds to the need of the farmers, acknowledging the remarkable contribution of farmers in ensuring any country’s food security drive.
He maintained that no contribution whatsoever that comes to support the farmers is considered small.
“Being here alone and seeing that farmers from different sectors are all going to benefit from this gesture, shows that E & P Group doesn’t deserve shrinking. You only shrink when you do not reach out to people; you only shrink when you do not consider people as your partners,” he said.
To that end, Sowe underscored the importance of fertilizer to production and productivity, adding that despite farmers still suffer in that regard because the cost of fertilizer, food and other inputs are too expensive for farmers.
He thus lauded the donors for the foresight, saying the group has come to reduce that cost farmers normally go through in boosting their production.
For her part, Ngoneh Panneh Camara, deputy managing director E & P Group, travelled down memory lane the challenges she and her husband had faced when they started the firm with a vision and dedication but bearing in mind that better days were yet to come.
The move, she added, is driven by their unrelenting passion and quest to give back to Gambia and contribute to the development of the country.
She revealed that 50% of food consumed in The Gambia is imported, recalling that in 2022 alone that figure total to US $173 million.
She disclosed that WFP has reported close to 300,000 Gambians have suffered acute food insecurity, noting that this reality that people are facing is not the responsibility of government alone but all have a stake to play.
She thus called on all to do their utmost to ensure that the country attains food security and is able to support export thereby creating employment.
"We must ensure that Gambia becomes a country where agriculture is not merely a sector but a cornerstone of our economy. Because if agriculture fails, nothing else will have the opportunity to succeed."
Lamin Sanyang, deputy managing director, National Food Security, Processing and Marketing Corporation, described E & P Group as reliable partner in development, who always deliver and on time.
He spoke highly of the firm for their dedication and delivering on time, pointing out that the group has proven to be a firm that sets standards in any business endeavour.
Abba Sankareh and Abdoulie Ceesay, representing the Ministry of Agriculture and deputy majority leader at the National Assembly respectively, both lauded E & P Group for the foresight and timely gesture.
The duo underscored the importance of fertilizer in boosting their productivity and in ensuring that the country meets its targets of producing enough for the people.
In her words of appreciation on behalf of the donors, Aja Kaddy Bojang representing women gardeners, commended the donors for the timely gesture.
Bojang prayed to God to bless the firm to be able to achieve more success in the future, saying whoever supports women, supports the entire nation in view of their invaluable contribution to their respective families.
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