By Abdou Karim
A young farmer and an agriculturist, Lamin F. Fatty, has said that farming makes him feel good about life, and that he is proud to be a farmer. Fatty is a third-year student at the School of Agriculture in Gambia College, pursuing advanced diploma in agricultural science.
Speaking to this online medium, the young farmer stressed that the new generation of farmers in the country needs help to realize their potentials. The 25-year-old is undoubted that with the necessary help, he could become a prolific farmer in this country, where farmers are the poorest of the poor.
“But in other parts of the world, farmer are the riches,” he noted, before rhetorically asking, “but why not here?”. The young gardener explained that he’s engaging in farming because to him, it’s a noble profession like any other profession.
“I choose to study agriculture and to become a farmer because it is my passion since I was in the high school; to be a farmer and here I’m,” Fatty disclosed. He further indicated that young farmers need support to boost the country’s agricultural sector-which is still under-developed.
The Agricultural Science opined that, “our agricultural sector is under zero development,” adding that agriculture is said to be the backbone of Gambia, “so there is a need to help those engaging in the sector to boost it”.
The former Public Relations Officer of the Student Union recalled that he started gardening at the Gambia College in 2016. And last year, Fatty had planted 50 different plants in the campus. He’s currently having over five hundred different plants species, which he said, he wanted to sell in order to pay his tuition fees.
“I want to sell these plants to pay my tuition fees, and I hope it will work,” said the young determined farmer who revealed that lack of support is affecting the realization of his potentials as a young farmer in the Gambia.
His words: “I can do more than this. I could have produced more paw paws, avocados, oranges if I’ve the support.” Fatty added that he has a self-help program in his farm, buying materials with the little money he earns.
Saying he wants to have his own plot of land to farm and make money, and also employ other Gambians, Fatty urged that anyone who can help him in that regards, the person is most welcome.
The young agriculturist intimated that the different varieties of plants he has in his garden are good species, adding that he is using organic materials to improve their quality.
“In using waste materials, you also keep the environment clean,” he said. Fatty tied bottles above his nursery beds, and made holes on the bottles to allow water dropping on the plants. The young gardener is using this unusual method of “irrigation”, because, as he pointed out, he lacks support.
“I have a lot of plants that need to be transplanted but I don’t have the money to buy the plastic bags they should be put in. Just these days, I bought over hundred bags, but that wasn’t enough to transplant all my plants,” he decried.
