The passion for eating locally grown food products is what motivated the Kanuma youth Mr. Yaya Manneh into agriculture, as could be deduced from his exclusive interview with Mansa Banko Online on Friday, April 2, 2021 through WhatsApp.
A native of Kanuma village in the Lower Niumi District of North Bank Region (NBR), Manneh started his farming activities–with a startup capital of D1,500 only–in 2019, growing onions, pepper and tomatoes on a year-round basis, for family consumption and to earn extra money. He reported that, ever since he ventured into agriculture, he had been realizing a lot of progress like feeding on fresh vegetables, and reaping financial benefits.
“I opted for agriculture because I want to feed on what I grow and grow what I eat; and promote food security and to promote healthiness and employment,” Manneh asserted.
Among his ambitious goals are to employ youths, give quality vegetables to Gambians as well as to export in the future.
As he explained, his business has suffered a lot of setbacks as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, lamenting that the customers are not coming to buy and consequently, his garden produce are getting spoiled.
Therefore, supports from good samaritans would do him a lot of good for the realization of his lofty dreams, because Manneh opined with a better fence around his garden and good water supply, he would be able to become the “number one agro-farmer” in the Gambia.
Some agriculturists in the Gambia believe there is a positive attitude, among Gambians, towards agriculture of late, as they see a ‘surge in farming activities’ across the country, especially the involvement of the youth folk.
This urge towards farming, some observe, is partly due to the numerous opportunities that agriculture presents to people, especially farmers, notably creating self-employment, providing healthy nutrition, food security and making extra cash.
Apparently, such opportunities are now attracting many youths into the sector and Yaya Manneh is one of those rural youth who decided to till the soil to not only consume healthy food, but also create self-employment, and make extra cash for himself as well as supplement the family income.
