At a colorful ceremony held on Tuesday, 23 February, 2021, at the Governor’s Office in Central River Region (CRR), TIKA handed over four threshers to the esteemed farmers in CRR through the governor of CRR. The machines, donated by TIKA, will be used in processing groundnut and millet with the objective of mitigating post-harvest losses.
The handing over ceremony was attended by the ambassador of the Republic of Turkey to The Gambia H.E. Tolga Bermek, governor of CRR, Sheriff Abba Sanyang, the coordinator of TIKA, Banjul Office, Mehmet Akif Eyigun, chiefs of districts in CRR and the regional directors of agriculture and health.
In his speech, Ambassador Tolga Bermek recalled the brotherly relations between Turkey and The Gambia, which he said is bearing the fruits of strong cooperation between the two countries in many areas. He stated that TIKA has come up with this timely support in response to the hardship of the farmers in CRR. He further thanked TIKA for the kind donation and hoped that such support by TIKA would continue on a broader scope in The Gambia.
In his remarks, the coordinator of TIKA, Banjul Office, Mehmet Akif Eyigun, stated that this was not the first time CRR is benefiting from TIKA’s support. He stated that under the Covid-19 Mitigation Project initiated by TIKA Banjul Office, CRR benefited from hand washing facilities, face masks and food items. He finally thanked the Governor of CRR for the mutual cooperation and expressed his hope that the donated machines will be put into good use.
On his part, the Governor of CRR Hon. Sheriff stated that before the coming of the machines, farmers in his region relied on machines from Senegal to thresh their groundnut and millet. He stated without any doubt, the machines would ensure efficiency in the processing of groundnut and millet in CRR.
He finally extended his profound gratitude to TIKA and promised that the donated machines will be handled with utmost care.
