By Ousman Seckan
Magassy Foundation for Relevant Easy Adult Literacy (REAL) had recently launched a Model Farm at Sabi Village in Upper River Region (URR).
The one hectare model farm, meant to be used as a Training Centre for farmers in Basse, is expected to attract representatives of different women groups that would be taught modern farming activities, as the people’s Representative of the area, Hon. Muhammed Magassy, who doubles as the founder and Executive Director of the Foundation, indicated to Mansa Banko Online.
Dilating on the rationale behind the model farm, the lawmaker said: “This rural farm is launched to serve as a model for farmers; whatever activity related to farming will be done on this farm. And whenever any activity has to be done on this farm [it] will attract representatives of different farming groups, so that it will not only be a farm but a lecture venue where people will be taught different aspects of farming. Any activity that we are doing will attract relevant authorities from the Agricultural Department.”
Hon. Magassy vows that procceds generated from the farm would go into education and healthcare, assuring his foundation would use education to support farming, likewise using farming to support education.
The National Assembly Member for Basse Constituency and Executive Director of Massy Foundation continued: “The proceeds of this farm will go into education and health because we are dealing with awareness creation.
“In fact, we are dealing with women and we already told them to be reporting early to hospital because they face lot of challenges during pregnancy.’’
According to Hon. Magassy, his long-term plan is to build literacy centres all over the country to promote the national languages of The Gambia.
His words: “My long-term plan for this foundation, after this pilot project, is to build literacy centres all over the country, so that we can protect and promote our national languages.
“We will know the values of our national languages; we will come to understand that national languages are tools for development as they are very easy to generate knowledge.”
The Basse NAM used the interview to call on the government of the Gambia to analyze the needs of the communities for sustainable development. The lawmaker is of the settled view that “a nation can’t be built if communities are not built and communities can’t be built; if their members are not built”. He argued that one way to build community members is to make them aware of what is happening in the country, and also to sit and plan with them.
The Magassy Model Farm, as its founder intimated, would engage both farmer educators and farmers on the farm by hosting educational programmes to build the capacity of farmers. That, he believed, “shall help generate revenue and strengthen connections between local communities”.
