The Jah Oil Company, led by CEO Hamidou Jah, has started an ambitious rice cultivation project in The Gambia, aiming for national food self-sufficiency. The initiative started with the development of 1,200 hectares in Bayaba, Central River Region and plans to expand to 15,000 hectares across the country. This multi-million-dollar investment includes advanced irrigation systems and a warehouse capable of storing over 160,000 metric tonnes of rice.
The government has expressed strong support for the project, highlighting its potential to create jobs and reduce reliance on rice imports, which currently account for 85% of consumption. Jah’s vision reflects a commitment to modernising agriculture in response to climate challenges and food shortages, emphasising that returning to farming is essential for sustainable growth.
If Jah Oil Company succeeds in making The Gambia rice-sufficient; it would have beaten all odds.
From former president Yahya Jammeh’s Vision 2016 agenda to the NARI project and now the Roots Project, investments into rice production in The Gambia are in the billions of dalasi with little or nothing to show for it. The vision of making the country food self-sufficient in the areas of rice production has proven fruitless. Jammeh has tried for 22 years and failed. At least 75% of the country’s GDP comes from the agricultural sector, which is driven by rice and groundnut cultivation. Amid growing food insecurity and inflation pushing food prices to new limits, there have been calls for Gambian businessmen to invest in the production of rice and other food commodities. In The Gambia, rice is the staple food, with a per capita consumption of 117 kg per annum, of which only 17% is produced locally. Every year, the West African country spends millions of dollars on rice importation. Under Jammeh alone, The Gambia expended over $50 billion on rice importation, even though there were plans to promote food self-sufficiency through rice production.
To address this nightmare, Jah Oil Company decided to step in with a massive investment despite the uncertainty surrounding the venture. The company started its rice production last year in Bayaba with 1000 hectares. However, the company’s venture has not come without controversy. Critics have blasted the government for giving it favouritism over other Gambian-owned companies, with some suggesting that the government bankrolled the ongoing Jah Rice project.
But speaking to journalists recently, Jah Oil companies Managing Director, Momodou Hydara denied claims of receiving funding from the Gambian government for its rice project.
Hydara stated that the company is investing its own resources into the initiative aimed at achieving rice self-sufficiency in The Gambia. Despite government support for agriculture, Hydara emphasised that their investment is independent and driven by a commitment to address food shortages and unemployment in the country.
“The government gives us nothing as far as the agribusiness project is concerned. This I want to make very clear. Yes, they have given us all the moral support and the necessary advice, but they have not given us a single dalasi. Maybe later on when grants come, they may decide to give Jah Company something but that hasn’t happened yet,” he said.
Hydara said Gambians should understand that the project is hundred percent funded by Jah Oil.
“We have not taken a loan or gotten a grant from anywhere. So, if we manage to give any discount no matter how small it may be, the population should be grateful to us and hope that others will be motivated to also reduce their prices,” he said.
Reflections in 2024
Reflecting on 2024, Hydara said the year has been a challenging one for the company, especially its CEO, who has been going up and down to ensure all logistics are put in place for the new projects to come to fruition.
“Everyone was on their heels to ensure that our projects stand on their feet, especially the agro project. It was not easy from the negotiations to the clearing of the land. It was bumpy. We had to clear a large field with limited resources. We faced a lot of challenges, especially when it comes to equipment and spare parts,” he said.
Good news
He said despite the challenges, the company was able to harvest 1000 hectares of rice as a start moving towards the target of 15,000 hectares.
“We have started milling what is harvested. It is taking time because the milling machines we purchased have not arrived yet. We are currently using the Jahali Pacharr milling machines and other places, and that is definitely delaying us,” he added.
He said once they flood the market, their presence will be significantly felt by the population.
“We are taking everything step by step. We have also started our dry season program because we don’t want to rely only on the rainy season to harvest once a year. We want to do three harvests a year, and to be able to do that, you have to work during the dry season. We have experts in the field installing six irrigation systems in six parts of the land, and these are massive irrigation plants. These are Pivot systems that can pump 50,000 metric tonnes of water an hour. That is not small water, and each of them can irrigate 100 hectares at a time,” Hydara added.
He said this will help the company’s dry season drive so that they can continue producing rice and start cultivating potatoes and onions to win the country of importation of certain things or to drastically cut it.
“This has been our ambition for 2024 and our target in 2025 is to at least meet a good percentage of that goal,” he stated.
Hydara said for potatoes and onions, it might be easy to win the country of its importation because the data is not too high.
“Jah Oil alone, we are talking about hitting 50% of the onions and potatoes and there are other big players in the market. Now, the issue is how do we get government support in tracking the production and the season it is coming to the market so that we don’t get them wasted by flooding the market with a lot of imports,” he said.
Rice importation
The company is criticised for giving a little discount from its Jah Rice imported from Japan mistaken by many Gambians for the locally produced rice.
But responding to the criticism, Hydara said the locally produced Jah rice has not hit the market just yet.
“What we have is the one we imported from Japan and that is what we are selling at D2000. We decided to start the importation of rice because many Gambians have been pressuring us to do so to bring the price down. We were reluctant at first, but at some point, we said to ourselves, we have to enter the importation market as we continue with our production. We were able to bring the price down from D2200 to D2000 for retail and D1950 for wholesale. We believe that is a step in the right direction, but we need the support of the Gambian people to be able to sustain the project,” he said.
Hydara appealed to Gambians to take ownership of Jah Oil to help them grow bigger.
“From the first to the second republic, we have seen successful Gambian businessmen who started very well. They all ventured into this particular area, but they were elbowed out by some scrupulous business owners who are very poisonous. So, if you want to survive these challenges, you have to take a lot of antidotes to resist. They will come with their tactics to try to elbow you out of the market.”
“They will wait until when your product arrives, then they will reduce the price and they have started, but they are messing up with the wrong person. They are trying, and when they succeed, they will then increase their prices, and this time it would be D3000 because they will want to recover what they have lost during the elbowing period. So, Jah Oil is ready to import and cultivate here to sell at a very reasonable price,” he said.
He assured Gambians that Jah Oil is prepared for any unforeseen circumstances and they will never join any business club that doesn’t have Gambia at heart.
“In a nutshell, it is going to be a tough battle, but we are ready. The business community, we know each other, and we know how far any of us can go. I am appealing to those who are trying to elbow us out to further drop their prices because if they do, we will match them or even sell at a cheaper price. We are even ready to give our rice for free if we reach there,” he argued.
Local rice
He said the Jah Oil CEO Hamidou Jah has assured that the Jah rice that is produced in The Gambia will be sold for far less than D2000.
“It could be D1,500 or D1,800 or even less than that even though it should have been more expensive. That just shows you how prepared we are to reduce that burden off the people. We are hungry and craving for it because we are trying to entice other investors that Gambia can also do it. So, our aim is not just to develop our rice fields but to encourage others to join the rice production chain,” he added.
Onions and potatoes
Hydara also disclosed that the company has started developing 100 hectares of onion and 100 hectares of potatoes.
“The idea is to ensure that we have enough for our consumption and export the rest because it is through exports that we are able to make more money to be able to sustain the project. We believe if we are able to produce enough for our consumption, we will be able to boost our economy and help improve the situation of the dalasi, which has been bastardised by the country’s massive importation,” he said.
