Mr. Omar Kassama of Tobacco Road (community) in the Gambian capital, Banjul is of the settled view that “not all those who attended school would be [working] in formal offices”, and therefore, agriculture is the fastest means to becoming a wealthy person.
“Let us venture into agriculture,” was his message to Gambians during an exclusive interview with Mansa Banko Online via WhatsApp, on February 16, 2021.
The city poulterer and one-time student of Institute of Commercial Management at Strafford College of Management, sells poultry products at the city’s Albert Market. Saying his father was a businessman and a groundnut farmer, Omar recounts those days when he would spend the entire school holidays with his father in the farms, till schools reopened.
“You know the start of any business; there are always hurdles, but you should be determined to see that you are successful in it,” he asserted. Kassama, who said he started his poultry business with seventeen (17) broiler chickens only, reported that he’s currently having over two hundred birds; and that his goal is to be supplying as many of his customers as possible, and also get his own hatchery equipment, so as to be able to supply the younger entrepreneurs growing up in the poultry industry.
Besides, the city poultry farmer is appealing to the government of the day to be awarding business contracts to young Gambian entrepreneurs, especially poultry farmers. He further posited that the state should be buying poultry products from them.
Like many others in the poultry business, Omar also held that feeds are expensive and that ninety percent of the poultry feeds are imported from neighboring Senegal; suggesting that government should look into that issue seriously.
“If government can buy our products, we don’t mind feeding the whole country with chickens,” he told this medium.
