The delegation led by Hon. Omar Darboe, the member for Upper Niumi who also doubles as Chair of the National Assembly Select Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development comprises members of the committee, the Deputy Majority Leader Hon. Abdoulie Ceesay, Deputy Minority Leader Hon. Madi Ceesay and other deputies and staff of the Assembly.
They were accompanied by Mr. Abdoulie Touray, Coordinator of the Central Projects Coordinating Unit (CPCU), Mahmoud Njie, Coordinator, Small Ruminants Production Enhancement Project (SRPEP) and staff of the various projects under the CPCU.
Speaking at the various sites, Hon. Darboe explained that the purpose of the mission was to gather first-hand information on the state of implementation of the projects, the impacts of the interventions on the lives and livelihoods of farmers as well as the challenges hindering both project implementations and the beneficiaries.
He said the mission aims to help strengthen the advocacy efforts of the National Assembly Select Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development for the appropriation of more funds from the national budget for the agriculture sector.
The sites visited included intervention sites of the different projects being implemented by the CPCU including the SRPEP, GIRAV, GAFSP, RRVCDP, P2-P2RS, RVCTP, ROOTS and the Regional Soil Fertility Mapping Program (RSFMP) for West Africa. The lawmakers heard from both the projects staff and the beneficiaries. Beneficiaries used the opportunity to acknowledge the impacts of the interventions on their lives and livelihoods. They however appealed for more support especially with farming equipment and access to markets.
In CRR South, the lawmakers were accompanied by the regional Governor Hon. Ousman Bah to visit the Maruo Farms Rice fields at Pacharr Rice fields which have been flooded by run off waters.
Speaking at the site, both Musa Darbe, CEO of Maruo Farms and Governor disclosed that the floods could have been prevented if the perimeter dyke is fixed. They appealed to the deputies to appropriate more funds for agriculture to enable the Ministry to fix the perimeter dykes to help avert the recurrence of the disaster which has affected thousands of farmers. They divulged that dependence of donor funding will not address the problem.
For their part, deputies sympathised with Musa Darboe and the smallholder rice farmers in the Pacharr rice fields over the disaster. They expressed their resolve to help fix the problem.
