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Momodou
Denmark
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 Posted - 09 Nov 2009 : 15:05:08
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The Gambia’s Agricultural Landscape In Serious Turmoil
By Saikou Jammeh
Despite the significant role agricultural activities plays in the socio-economic development of the Gambia-serving as the main source of food and feed provider, employer and income earner, its landscape has been in a serious turmoil, The Daily News analysis of an in-depth assessment of the sector reveals.
According to a draft Country Research Report under review by Pro-PAG, much focus has been put on improving the sector as policies and strategies have been devised, money invested, and political intentions declared, all geared towards enhancing the welfare of farmers who constitute the poorest in the country, yet the performance of the sector has been far, far below expectations.
In essence, what the report is saying is that low productivity; low yields and inefficient market facilities have persistently marred agricultural activities in The Gambia. The reason for this according to the report is that the sector is characterized by little diversification, mainly subsistence rain-fed agriculture, which is not only erratic and unreliable, but also dependent on a short rainy season for food production, which makes output varying according to the year.
This phenomenon of poor production levels causes income loss for many farmers especially smallholders, who are infact the majority.
This coupled with poor agricultural practices, limited capacity, inefficient extension services, inaccess to short term and long-term loans and high interest rates, inadequate and/or expensive fertilizers, and other agronomic and biological constraints such as declining soil fertility, soil erosion, pest and disease problems and weed management problems.
As a result of this, the Report says, given that local food production cannot meet the national food consumption requirement, rice, fruits and vegetables are imported in large quantities accounting for almost 50 percent of national food requirement. The major activities of the agriculture sector continue to revolve around food and cash crops, with an estimated 197, 856 people engaged in their productions.
A ‘recent’ data on crop production shows a declining trend in production of coarse grains, total production dropping from 248, 400 tonnes in 2003 to 181 tonnes in 2007. Groundnut which remains the dominant crop of the economy representing 55 percent of the country’s export earnings, is cultivated mainly in North Bank, Lower River and Central River Regions where farmers have access to production inputs and some level of mechanisation. However yields remain low, with an average yield of about 1.0 tonnes per hectre, the report outlines.
Moreover, cotton, also a traditional cash crop which was increasingly produced for export, has seen production progressively declining from 3, 000 metric tons in 1991/1992, to 2, 000 metric tons in 2006, a 93 33,3 percent decline. Unfavorable climate, high cost of input, price uncertainty, poor loan recovery resulted in the decline in production, the Report indicated.
yields for staple food crops such as sorghum, maize are relatively low, and inadequate to meet the year round household food demand. Infact at the best of times, only 50 percent of the national requirement of food staples is met from local production, a chronic deficit classifying the country as a net importer of food, especially rice, which has received more than any other crop, in terms of development-oriented intervention and assistance from government and donors, has seen yields stagnating across different ecologies over the years.
The yields have ranged from around 1.0 to 1.5 tons per hectre under upland and natural swamp conditions to over 5.0 tons per hectre under irrigated conditions with key constraints to timely operations, access to swamp land, salt intrusion and low input use.
With the above revelations the report says, “The Gambia can achieve 50 percent of its requirement for rice by increasing productivity for the area under production for swamp and upland rice and if the current area is increased by two folds, the national requirements for rice would be met.
Source: Daily News
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