The report is about the committee’s visit to ‘Seccos’ that had shortage during the 2023/2024 groundnut buying season across the country.
In laying the report, the chairperson of the committee, Hon. Omar Darboe, who is also the lawmaker for Upper Nuimi, revealed that the committee embarked on a visit to various Seccos' across the country from the 30th April to 5th May 2024.
During their visit, he said, the committee focused on seccos that experienced shortages during the last groundnut season of 2023/ 2024.
“The initiative was meant to assess the situation on the ground and understand the challenges faced by the various cooperatives.”
According to him, “they found out that Groundnut was sold at D38.00 per kilo and D38,000.00 per tonnes.”
Darboe maintained that the seccos were also paying D2103 per ton as commission. This, he added, was dependent on the location of the seccos.
One of the challenges seccos faces across the country, he went on, “is the lack of good and effective screening equipment. This therefore, is leading to groundnuts being bought with a lot of sand and stones.”
The committee chair further added; “Again, an amount of Ten thousand dalasis was given to each seccos across the country meant for maintenance of the facility before the commencement of the groundnut season,” he stated, while claiming that this amount is deducted from their commission.
He revealed that several seccos across the country reported losses due to “lack of screening.”
Continuing further, he said, “the delays and inefficiencies in transporting groundnuts to the depot were common. Many seccos faced issues with bad road conditions and insufficient vehicles.”
The Upper Nuimi lawmaker further added: “All the seccos across the country were using outdated or insufficient screening and weighing scales, leading to huge variations in weight between what is obtained at the secco and the depot levels.”
“Insufficient funds provided for groundnut purchases and delays in payment from AGIB Bank also caused financial strain,” he claimed.
“The committee, therefore recommended that all the seccos should do proper screening before buying groundnuts from farmers.”
“We also recommend for the National Food Security Processing and Marketing Corporation (NFSPMC) to Invest in modern screening machines for all seccos with a view to ensuring better quality control and reduce contamination.”
The committee, he said, also recommended a review of the contract agreement between NFPSMC and AGIB, saying they also recommended timely and adequate disbursement of funds, consider reviewing and increasing the financial support provided to seccos in order to cover operational costs.
During the visit, Darboe said, the committee also engaged with local farmers and cooperative leaders in order to gather first-hand information regarding the buying process, their understanding of what happened and impact of the shortages on the seccos.
“By visiting the seccos, the Select Committee aimed to foster a collaborative approach in resolving the challenges in the agricultural sector. This is vital for the country’s economy and the livelihoods of many citizens.” he added.
