By Bakary Touray Jr.
The visiting European Union Ambassadors had on Tuesday met with the Gambian leader Mr. Adama Barrow for discussions, shortly after his rally in Baddibu Saaba, in the North Bank Region (NBR) as part of his meet with the people’s tour.
The Ambassadors, who were received by the the National Agricultural Land and Water Management Development Project (Nema-Chosso) supremo at the border Village of Keur Ayib, are currently in the country for a two-day official visit to the Nema-Chosso Project sites.
Among the fields they are expected to visit are Bondali, Pakalinding and Darsilameh Rice Fields.
Madam Haoua Sienta, the country Director for Mauritania and The Gambia, West and Central Africa Division, Programme Management Department, told President Barrow that the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is supporting Gambia’s development sectors as well as Youth and Women empowerment initiatives.
President Barrow expressed appreciation with IFAD’s contributions in the key development sectors, notably agriculture and infrastructure. He thanked IFAD for supporting women and children, adding that they are top priorities of his government .
The IFAD Ambassadors’ tour in the country continues today with visits to Bondali, Dareslameh and Pakalinding Nema Project sites, after which they would leave the shores of Banjul to their respective destinations.
Nema Project Goal
The goal of this project is to reduce poverty among rural women and young people through improved productivity based on sustainable land and water management practices. The project responds to two major challenges in rural areas of country:
– Limited productivity and economic carrying capacity of land used for farming
– Poorly developed domestic markets, which generate very low real demand for the main produce of smallholders.
– To address these challenges, the project supports watershed development and agricultural commercialization. And in order to consolidate and scale up the approach taken by ongoing IFAD-financed operations in The Gambia, it is nationwide in scope.
Nema Project Target
The project targets poor smallholders, particularly women, who are the core producers of rice and vegetables throughout the country. A secondary target group is composed of market intermediaries, service providers and operators in the rice and vegetable markets, including producers’ organizations and small and medium-sized enterprises.
Nema-Chosso objectives
One of the main objectives the Nema-Chosso Project is to support the process of climate change adaptation by increasing producers’ capacities in the use of climate resilient technologies for rice and vegetable production.
