By Yusupha Jobe
Watermelon farmers in Kerr Bohoum village, North Bank Region (NBR) have been recounting the negative impacts this year’s inadequate rainfall had on their farm yields.
The shortage of rainfall, they argued, has registered negative impacts on the lives of many Gambian famers, especially the watermelon farmers.
Mansa Banko Online’s North Bank reporter visited Kerr Bohoum to get the views of the affected farmers on the horrible situations they are living in their farmlands.
Mr. Salifu Jallow, a renowned watermelon farmer shared his experiences, claiming that the inadequate rainfall registered this year, has “disappointed the watermelon farming community in Kerr Bohoum and the whole country, at large”.
In his opinion, this season is really a failure because the rainfall had stopped at time when the crops needed rains most, especially regarding watermelons.
Jallow bemoaned the daily dying of many crops, and observed that many of the watermelons are big in shape but lack adequate water.
The Kerr Bohoum farmer hailed the visit by Mansa Banko Online’s reporter, and encouraged his fellow farmers to provide him with “accurate and reliable information” so enable the online medium to provide reliable information to its readership.
Farmer Jallow also has a proposal for the current political dispensation. Hear him: “I’m pleading to the government of The Gambia to introduce drainage {systems}in the rural areas so that if such unforeseen circumstances occurred, farmers will take care of their own case.”
Madam Awa Sowe, a daughter to Salifu Jallow, reinforced his father’s view points, as she used this medium to urge the Ministry of Agriculture to assist his father with a drainage system, so that his farming activities would not be disturbed at any time of the season.
