By Amoro Kebbeh
Farmers across the country are voicing out their frustrations over lack of standard and proper storage facilities, as a result of which they are experiencing post-harvest losses. This, eventually, culminate in serious economic loss for these farmers, thereby affecting their household needs.
Mansa Banko Online Newspaper’s interview with Mr. Abdoulie Barry, a watermelon seller in Brikama Town, in the West Coast Region (WCR), disclosed that lack of storage facilities has contributed immensely to post-harvest losses of their farm produce.
Barry, 76, a resident of the Kombo East village of Kuloro, is married with two wives and blessed with several children. And he has been farming for a number of years.
“With the money I gained from my business, I have been supporting my family as well as my loved ones,” he told this online medium.
Being in the watermelon business for seven years now, Barry uses the profits from his watermelon sales to cater for his family.
Stressing the importance embracing farming as a business, the Kuloro farmer acknowledged that he’s able to take care of himself and his family because of farming.
While calling on all and sundry to venture into agricultural activities, Barry maintained that the only way for a nation to develop is by promoting and supporting the agricultural sector, which engenders food self-sufficiency and rapid economic growth.
The Kulolo resident recalled his youthful days when the kind of sicknesses affecting today’s generation was not common place, and Barry attributed this situation to the food that people eat, nowadays.
Barry is of the settled view that people are now suffering from all types of diseases, due to too much consumptions of imported food. He reinforced former President Yahya A.J.J Jammeh’s then famous slogan, calling on Gambians to, ‘Grow What You Eat, and Eat What You Grow.’
In order to be healthy, Barry is of the settled view that, Gambians need to eat local farm produce, and he urged them to buy locally-made products.
Barry, through this media interview, encouraged the country’s youth to engage in farming activities, reminding them of the availability of lands and water in the country for farming purposes. Although, he was quick to underline that without quality seeds, proper storage facilities and farming inputs, “we cannot increase our productivity, processing as well as to market fresh farm products”.
The Kuloro watermelon seller’s message for the central and local government authorities, is to give more support to the farming community, by providing them with quality seeds, storage facilities and farming equipment, so as to enhance their production capacities.
In conclusion, Barry renewed his appeal to the government of the day to help farmers with storage facilities in order to avoid post-harvest losses, lamenting that many of the watermelons are spoiled due to the intense heat.
