By Lamin Kujabi
The Minister of Information Dr Ismaila Ceesay has disclosed that President Barrow’s cabinet has approved the establishment of a presidential delivery council to oversee the implementation of the country’s Food and Agriculture Delivery Compact.
The Country Food and Agriculture Delivery Compacts, an initiative of the Africa Development Bank (AfDB), convey the vision, challenges, and opportunities in agricultural productivity, infrastructure, processing, value addition, markets, and financing that will contribute to the acceleration of the implementation of the African Union’s Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program. The compacts serve as roadmap for the transformation of the continent’s agricultural agenda.
The AfDB and partners are supporting, across 20 countries in the continent, including The Gambia, the targeted production of 25 million tons of wheat, 20 million tons of maize, 50 million tons of rice,10 million tons of cassava, 10 million tons of soya beans, 10 million tons of sorghum, 5 million tons of livestock, including poultry, beef and pork; and 5 million tons of fish through aquaculture.
With the initiative, the Information Minister said the government has the ambition to promote home-grown food to ensure sustainable food security.
He also mentioned the approved plan to revitalise the Food Security Council, an initiative he says, highlights Government’s proactive approach to addressing food security challenges and fostering collaboration among key stakeholders in the agricultural sector.
The food security council will be chaired by the President and will compose of different ministries that are main actors in the food ecosystem; such as Ministry of Agriculture; Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Natural Resources; Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs; Ministry of Trade; Ministry of Lands, Regional Government, and Religious Affairs; and the Ministry of Fisheries and Water Resources. The technical departments and agencies, that part of the council include the United Nations system (WFP, FAO, UNDP), NDMA, the National Nutrition Agency, Food Safety agency.
