As Gambians are becoming more and more entrepreneurial in various fields, access to the necessary funding, on the other, is becoming harder and limited for start-ups, especially in the agricultural sector. This ultimately hinders the progress of entrepreneurship across the country, particularly in the rural Gambia.
Army officer Musa Ndow Corr, a native of Mbollet Ba village in Lower Niumi District, North Bank Region (NBR) had been running a garden since 2020.
In a recent exclusive interview with Mansa Banko Online Newspaper conducted through WhatsApp, the head of Public and Environmental Health at the GAF, opines that access to funding opportunities in the Gambia ‘is like getting a diamond gem’.
He indicated that there are few microfinance institutions, or limited loans, available for farmers, thus making it difficult for young people to venture into this field.
In highlighting the achievements he registered so far, in his gardening venture, the Mbollet Ba native said he’s able to fully fence his garden to secure the crops and other farming activities. He also drilled a borehole and fixed drip irrigation system so as to water all the plants and crops within hours, with ease.
Corr, however, identified the setbacks too, saying the water is not enough because the current tank he’s using has a capacity of just 5000 liters, which he noted, cannot cover the over 450 plants in his garden, adding this has resulted to slow growth of plants over the period.
The army officer, who is a Master’s degree holder in Public and Environmental Health from University of The Gambia, further said the capacity of his borehole pump is not fast enough to refill the tank twice a day, as it only lasts for six (6) hours before it could fill the tank– making it difficult to get enough water needed by the plants.
Corr lamented that during the start of the 2021 rainy season, heavy windstorms had blown off his solar panels, destroying one of them, and that all the electrical system for the borehole is destroyed leaving him hopeless.
“I have piloted some water melons this dry season to see if it will work and the results were impressive,” he told this medium.
In the meantime, Corr is worried about how to secure funding to replace his destroyed solar panels and water pump which, he said, would cost him eighty five thousand dalasi (D85,000) to get it operational again.
The military officer, who took up farming as a secondary source of income but with the intention of continuing it in the future, held that nothing is more enjoyable and rewarding than working for oneself.
His exact words: “It is rewarding, less hassle, less command and control and less stress. Hopefully in five years to come, I should be retiring from the military and concentrate on my farming.”
Besides, officer Ndow Corr has a dream, to wit: for the Gambia to graduate from the importation of most of these Agricultural products.
He made a clarion call by enjoining the youth folk ‘to go back to the land’ and make good use of it. The Mbollet Ba military man describes farming as one of the fastest ways one could make millions or more within a year, with less stress.
