The National Food Security Processing and Marketing Corporation (NFSPMC) formerly GGC, has started paying outstanding dues owed to farmers who supplied groundnuts during the 2025 farming season but were not paid.
Those paid include farmers from Jokadu and other places who claimed they have delivered their produce to a buying point but were not paid.
Speaking to journalists at the Corporation’s office in Banjul, NFSPMC Deputy Managing Director Lamin Sanyang said the payments totaled between D1.2 million and D1.6 million.
“The government has given a directive that the affected farmers be paid by the NFPMC and we want people to know that payments are being done today,” he said.
He accused some Secco presidents of engaging in credit purchasing by collecting groundnuts from farmers without making immediate payment, contrary to their agreements with the Corporation.
According to Sanyang, funds are made available to Secco presidents to ensure farmers are paid promptly when they deliver their produce.
“Every Secco gets almost D2 million at any given time. So the excuse that there is no money yet is not accurate,” he said.
He advised farmers against leaving their groundnuts with buying agents without payment, because the system provides funds for immediate payment.
Sanyang further disclosed that the Corporation was working with authorities to recover money allegedly withheld by some Secco presidents and that some cases had already been reported to the police and other relevant institutions.
The NFSPMC official said the number of unpaid farmers had reduced significantly compared to previous years, noting that the Corporation paid nearly D25 million in outstanding dues last year.
He attributed the reduction to tighter monitoring systems and improved controls but said further measures would be introduced to prevent similar situations in the future.
The NFSPMC said it expects additional complaints from other areas to be addressed through the same verification and payment process.
However in a related development, two of the affected farmers from Jokadu have told The Standard that they are yet to receive their payments. Musa Ceesay who is owed D13,661 and Danjang Chune, who is owed D19,304, said they are among the 21 farmers who visited GGC offices yesterday to receive their payments but were told their names were not in the list. “I believe this omission is done by the Secco secretary but we will report the matter to Kuntaya police and see,” Ceesay said.