By Isatou Jawara
The government of the Gambia has completed and validated the Agriculture National Resource policy 2015-2025, according to Mr Sait Drammeh, permanent secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture.
The validation for the policy coincided with preparations of the second Gambia National Agriculture Investment Programme (GNAIP).
These blue prints are interlinked with the ultimate aim of achieving socio economic development goals for the government of the Gambia, officials say.
The permanent secretary said the validation of the Agriculture Natural Resource Policy (ANR) 2015-2025 is the successor to the expired ANR policy.
He said the new 10-year policy will enable all concerned sectors to have high quality strategic priorities that accurately respond to present day development and transformation needs of funders and development partners.
“The ANR policy is a clear testimony of the sectors’ concerted efforts to harmonise our efforts and interventions in our respective ministries so as to enhance production and productivity of our various subsector priorities, be it crops, livestock, fisheries, and wildlife with special attention to our fragile environment.“
Mr Drammeh revealed that “emerging issues that usually frustrate our today’s development efforts notably climate change, youth and gender and value addition have adequately been addressed.
Pertinent issues affecting the farming population, especially the resource poor segment of our society, e.g women and youth living in mostly deprived rural and pre-urban communities of The Gambia, has also been articulated,” he said.
Mbye Jabang of the Ministry of Agriculture, said with the ANR policy document in place, the ministry now will move forward to other priorities.
“This policy document could not have come at a better time than now, when we need to intensify, transform and commercialise agricultural production based on sound natural resources management that contributes to improving the environment.”
