The Horticulture Unit of the National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI) is mandated to, among other things, carry out researches on food crops, roots and tubers, conducts trials on varieties of crops and test fertilizer rates on these different crops and vegetables in the Gambia and beyond.
Horticulture is quite important as it generates high income for farmers, middlemen and, thereby, boosting economic status of Gambians involved into crops and vegetables production, so stated Mr. Adama M. Jallow, during an exclusive interview with Mansa Banko Online Newspaper, held on February 24, 2021 at his office in Yundum.
As the Research Officer indicated, early maturing crops and vegetables like okra, tomatoes, cabbage, garden eggs and bitter tomatoes are very effective in contributing access to quality food and balanced diet for the citizenry, especially those in rural Gambia where, he noted, the malnutrition rate is high due to imbalanced diet.
“All these vegetables and crops are consumed daily in the Gambia, and they are unlike late maturing crops or vegetables,” Jallow explained.
According to him, crops and vegetables production through gardening has been the source of income, source of school fees for Gambian students as well as means to achieve balanced diet for many Gambian families.
Jallow, a young energetic researcher, informed this medium that, the Horticulture Unit of the (NARI) has introduced some new sweet potatoes and cassava varieties that are bio-fortified to tackle the high malnutrition rate in the northern and southern parts of the country. He observed that most of the deformities (diseases) among babies that are associated with jinn’s or the devils, are actually caused by deficiencies in their food elements such as Vitamin A or zinc, which is highly needed by the human body for proper growth of the human system. “We also introduced yellow cassava, a type that is rich in all these nutrients that the body needs,” the Horticultural Unit official pointed out.
He further stated that yellow cassava could be processed into finished productions like porridge and bread; that the variety is already available in all the regions of the country. Jallow disclosed their Unit is working with some international partners from Hungary and Turkey, and they are importing different crops and vegetables from these countries to purely improve the Gambian crops or vegetables. “We received twenty (20) varieties tomatoes that can withstand all kinds of pests from Hungary and Turkey,” he added.
The seasoned horticulturist held that these varieties are adapting to the Gambian climate and they are highly productive; and that these crops and vegetables yield better. He’s positive that if government empowers them with the required materials and funding, they could achieve their objectives of helping Gambians produce their crops and vegetables without having to cross the country’s borders to import those crops and vegetables.
However, he underlined that the unit is grappling with endless challenges such as lack of proper water facilities as the available water system is suffering from leakages; outdated irrigation gadgets; poor fencing–which animals and thieves capitalize on to invade their crops and vegetables in late hours-; and lack of adequate funding, despite being working with organizations like FAO and others. Another challenge he pinpointed is lack of quality seeds for Gambian farmers around the country. But despite the challenges enumerated, Jallow is optimistic that future collaborations could alleviate some of these hurdles, disclosing: “we are expecting to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a Hungarian seed firm.
At that juncture, he called on the Gambia government and its development partners to redouble their support to the Horticulture Unit, avowing they are poised to feed the country with locally-produced crops and vegetables.
This reporter saw a dilapidated water infrastructure as leakages could be visibly seen everywhere, with a broken barbed wire fence around this key Research Center that is playing a crucial role in the attainment of food security for the Gambia. The body is actually trying to address SDG goal two (2) of the United Nations which The Gambia is a party to.
