Since around mid-June of 2024, farmers in The Gambia welcomed this year’s rainy season. This is a time that is highly anticipated by all who engage and depend on farming. These good people do not expect anything at the end of the month as their work is seasonal. It is important therefore for there to be proper preparations so as to expect a good yield.
Agriculture is the breadbasket of the country as whatever people eat, it is undoubtedly as a result of someone engaging in Agriculture. It is important therefore for the Government through the Ministry of Agriculture to support farmers in any way possible so that when they enjoy a bumper harvest, it will be of benefit to the whole nation.
For a farmer, good and sufficient preparation is key to attaining one’s objectives. Preparations mean having enough seeds for sowing, farming tools and implements and of course, fertilizer. When a farmer has all these and has good and enough fertilizer, he or she is likely to have a very good harvest.
It is said that this year, the Government of the Gambia subsidized the fertilizer and as such farmers will be able to buy it just at a little over a thousand dalasi unlike last year when it was over two thousand dalasis. This will indeed be very beneficial not only to farmers but to the country as a whole.
However, many farmers are complaining that they have not been able to access the fertilizer as it has not been distributed to all the seccos. In some areas, it is some people who are well-off who buy it in larger quantities and in turn sell it to the ordinary farmers at a profit.
The Ministry of Agriculture is therefore urged to make efforts and put policies in place such that all farmers in the country will have equal access. That is how the farmers can be supported.
