By Aminata Kuyateh
The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Security, in partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organisation, the Gambia Tech and Alliance Française, Thursday launched the World Food Forum (WFF) Gambia Youth Chapter.
The launching of the chapter is expected to strengthen youth involvement in the country’s agri-food sector.
The platform will bring together young people working across agriculture, technology, and community development, offering a space to coordinate their initiatives and support national efforts toward food systems transformation.
It comes at a time when agriculture continues to employ a good number of Gambians despite long-standing constraints.
According to stakeholders, smallholder farmers, agri-startups, and processors struggle with limited access to finance, weak market linkages, and slow adoption of modern technologies.
While several national programmes such as GIRAV, GAMIRSAL, the rice value chain projects, and the agriculture transformation programme aim to drive change, officials say sustained investment and stronger public-private partnerships remain essential to keep the momentum.
The WFF Youth Chapter is expected to connect young innovators and encourage collaboration across value chains, including horticulture, rice, livestock, fisheries, and agro-processing.
According to the Chapter lead, Musa Juwara, members will work with local institutions and FAO to align national actions with global food systems initiatives.
Juwara added that the WFF Global Youth Action Initiative seeks to provide young people with the tools and networks needed to act on challenges facing food systems.
He said national chapters will help mobilise youth at the community level and coordinate their contributions within a unified platform.
FAO representative Mustapha Ceesay reaffirmed the organisation’s commitment to support the chapter with technical guidance and encourage young entrepreneurs to use the forum to build market connections and strengthen their ventures.
David Gomez, from the Ministry of Agriculture said the launch offers a structured space for youth voices and will help turn ideas into action.
He noted that partnerships across institutions are needed to ensure that young agripreneurs are supported by a system that recognises their role in national development.
Participants welcomed the initiative, saying it will create new opportunities to engage in agriculture and expand their work within the broader food systems agenda.
