The Horticulture Technical Services Unit of the Department of Agriculture, bankrolled by the Japan Kennedy Round 2 Project (KR2), recently distributed seeds to over one hundred and thirty-six(136) communities across the seven agricultural regions of the country.
The handing over exercise, which ran from 13th to 22nd November 2019, took the form of a gathering held at the various regional agricultural offices across the country, where the identified beneficiary villages received their horticultural seed packages through their respective representatives.
Among the varieties provided to these farmers are seeds of okra, onion, carrot, tomato, lettuce, eggplant, pepper and bitter tomato.
The exercise was geared towards promoting a year-round vegetable production in The Gambia, to enhance the resilience of farmers, especially women, from the negative impacts of climate change through improving vegetable production, and to support women vegetable gardening in the country.
In his opening remarks at the distribution point in West Coast Region where the team the kicked off the exercise on 13th November, 2019, Governor Bakary Sanyang acknowledged the Department of Agriculture’s work in supporting farmers through seed distribution, as he had witnessed a similar seed distribution program last year.
The head of West Coast Region told the gathering that The Gambia Government recognizes the steadfastness and hardworking nature of women of this country, adding that’s one of the reasons the government always wants to see women being supported.
The West Coast Governor further said it’s part of the government’s agenda to make agriculture a lucrative business that would contribute to the improvement of the Gambian economy and also uplift people out of poverty. Sanyang encouraged them to increase the hard work and determination.
The Regional Agricultural Directress, Mrs. Kaddy Bojang, told the gathering that the ultimate aim of the Department of Agriculture is to improve farming to attain food self-sufficiency, and to serve as an investment for farmers to generate income. She emphasized that part of the plans of the government is to improve vegetable production in the country by making it a foreign exchange earner. While her Regional Directorate would like to provide inputs to vegetable producers, Madam Bojang, however, admitted that they lacked the financial muscles of providing inputs to every garden within the region.
She explained: “It is in recognition of that fact, that Japan Kennedy Round 2 project (KR2) stepped in to support Gambian farmers with large and different varieties of vegetable seeds, including other farm equipment to farmers.” There are about 480 registered gardens in her region, but only 22 gardens would benefit from the seeds, as indicated by the regional Agricultural Directress.
Mr. Kan Saikou Ceesay of the Horticulture Technical Services Unit and head of the seed distribution exercise, in his remarks, acknowledged that the assortment of vegetable seeds were purchased from the support given by the Japanese Government through the KR2 project.
He went on to state that the assistance is in line with the National Development Plan of the Gambia and to enhance vegetable production to be a year round activity for farmers.
Ceesay believed it’s one way of helping farmers to adapt to the effects of climate change. Therefore, his advice to the beneficiaries is to best utilize the seeds and take ownership of them.
