By Fatou B. Cham
The Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, and Food Security, Hon. Demba Sabally, last week received officials of the Regional Rice Value Chain Development Project (RRVCDP) and a representative from the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB).
Hon. Sabally welcomed the team, and acknowledged the project’s constraints, particularly regarding co-financing. He expressed the government’s preference for parallel financing over the current arrangement.
“We are pleased with the implemented initiatives, which I have personally witnessed and recognise as game-changers in the sector,” he said.
Momodou Lamin Ceesay, Lead Global Management Rural Development Specialist at IsDB, who also serves as the focal point for the Regional Rice Value Chain Development Project, mentioned that his presence was to conduct a thorough technical review of the project implementation, challenges, and success stories.
According to Mr. Ceesay, the entire programme, covering ten countries, including The Gambia, has been approved since 2018.
“My objective today is to conduct a technical review or evaluation to identify implementation challenges so far,” he affirmed. He added that a mid-term review was conducted a year ago for the five countries, including The Gambia, revealing consistent progress especially on the part of Gambia.
Mr. Ceesay attributed delays partly due to the capacity of the hired consultant, leading to revisions in the implementation process.
He concluded by stating that the purpose of his visit was to collaborate as a team to identify and address loopholes, propose solutions, and share lessons learned for the benefit of the country and the Bank for future projects.
On Tuesday, the team embarked on a field visits to project sites, allowing them to gather first-hand information from beneficiaries and observe project progress.
