By Fatou B. Cham
The Gambia Inclusive and Resilient Agricultural Value Chain Development Project (GIRAV) recently handed over fifty (50) motorcycles, weighing machines, scales, and quire books to the Department of Agriculture (DoA).
Speaking at the handing-over ceremony, Hon. Dr. Demba Sabally, Minister of Agriculture, lamented that a key challenge to his ministry’s effort and investment in food nutrition security, poverty, and vulnerability to Climate Change is the perennial low agricultural productivity due to limited access to input, technology, and agricultural extension advisory services.
“Agricultural productivity has remained low in recent years as producers have had little access to technology inputs and advice support, especially for transfer of adaptation of productivity enhancing and climate-smart technologies which will be needed to increase rapidly our food security, especially in the recent challenges,” he stated.
Hon. Sabally narrated that an improved business environment will increase the incentives for private investment and strong value chain organisation and increase access to finance and credible solutions to core value chain performance.
According to the Minister of Agriculture, the project has provided logistics to facilitate data collection on yields, which is critical to measuring the outcomes of the investments of the seed distribution.
He revealed that since its national launch on August 17th, 2022 the GIRAV project has provided significant assistance to farmers and key partners mainly DoA.
“The project procured and distributed in June an assortment of 250 metric tons of certified rice and maize seeds to more than 12,500 smallholder farmers across the country to effectively identify and track the progressive evolution of the effects of the qualities provided,” he added.
These motorbikes, according to the Honorable Minster, are provided to enhance supervision and monitoring, and data collection of all project activities including the extension programmes.
Dr. Saikou E. Sanyang, Director of the Department of Agriculture, recalled that in the month of June, the GIRAV project purchased 100 tablets which were handed to the office of the Director General for onward distribution to Regional Directors for the extension workers in the field.
Dr. Sanyang explained that the GIRAV Project has trained more than 50 extension workers and Regional Directors on the digitalisation of data using the tablet for registration of farmers and tabulation of yield data collection.
“We have the extension policy and one of the key recommended points in that policy is the e-Extension. Now we want to start to implement that recommendation to reduce the use of papers,” he said.
