The Gambia could unlock US$52.4 million in annual export benefits through a US$3.5 million investment in food safety and quality systems, Principal Food Inspector at the Food Safety and Quality Authority (FSQA), Abdoulie Jallow, has disclosed.
Mr Jallow made this disclosure in a question-and-answer session recently published by the World Trade Organization (WTO), outlining how The Gambia is using evidence-based investment planning to address food safety challenges, strengthen export competitiveness and expand market opportunities for local farmers and businesses.
He explained that rejected or delayed agricultural products at international borders represent more than lost shipments, as they also affect farmers’ incomes, traders’ contracts and the country’s access to lucrative markets.
For The Gambia, he said, mangoes had faced border restrictions over fruit fly concerns, chili peppers had been rejected because of pest-related issues, groundnuts required checks for aflatoxins, while smoked fish faced food safety concerns.
Despite the country’s agricultural potential and committed producers, meeting international sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) requirements remained a major challenge for exporters.
To address these difficulties, The Gambia adopted a more strategic approach to prioritising investments, with support from the Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF), a multi-agency initiative supporting safe trade.
According to Mr Jallow, the country applied the Prioritising SPS Investments for Market Access (P-IMA) framework to identify interventions capable of delivering the greatest trade and development benefits.
The process brought together government officials, food safety authorities, private sector representatives, producers, civil society organisations and development partners to assess six value chains: cashew nuts, groundnuts, chili peppers, mangoes, smoked fish, and hides and skins.
The assessment considered export potential, investment costs, public health, poverty reduction, environmental impact and opportunities for women and young people.
The findings identified cashew nuts as the sector offering the greatest potential for export growth.
An investment of US$453,000 in strengthening producers’ capacity to meet export requirements could unlock up to US$45 million in annual export potential, benefiting a sector employing approximately 12,000 smallholders.
The assessment is particularly significant as The Gambia seeks to diversify its export base amid declining groundnut exports. Cashew nuts have emerged as an important alternative, with the country recently signing an export agreement with China.
Groundnuts also require stronger aflatoxin controls to improve export opportunities, while better SPS compliance in chili pepper production could benefit up to 89,000 producers. Mangoes, smoked fish, and hides and skins were identified as additional areas for future investment.
Mr Jallow explained that the assessment had already informed subsequent interventions, including a new STDF project worth nearly US$800,000 to improve safe trade in cashew nuts.
The findings also helped align support with a €18.9 million European Union-funded programme implemented by COLEAD, covering chili peppers, mangoes and groundnuts.
He said The Gambia’s experience demonstrated how clearly defined, evidence-based national priorities could help attract development financing and improve coordination among partners.
The initiative highlights the importance of strengthening food safety systems not only to protect consumers but also to improve export competitiveness, increase farmers’ earnings and create opportunities for economic growth.
For Gambian farmers and exporters, the success of these investments could mean fewer rejected shipments, stronger access to international markets and greater returns from locally produced goods.
