By Maimuna Sey-Jawo
The National Alliance Food Security in collaboration with Action Aid the Gambia, International Food Security Network and the Ministry of Lands and Regional Government Wednesday commenced a two-day multi stakeholders consultative meeting to look at the statues of the ongoing national land policy development and identify key issues that are relevant to the policy as their addition to contribute to the ongoing policy.
The forum that brought together stakeholders from different institutions is held at the Action Aid Conference Hall in Kanifing, from 26 to 27 April 2016.
In his statement, the project coordinator for National Alliance for Food Security Momodou Lamin Saidykhan said food security cannot be dealt with in the absence of policy guide line, ownership, control and access.
“Over the years the Alliance in partnership with Action Aid have been engaging in series of activities in terms of empowering the small holder farmers as well engaging policy makers to understand the need for land policy that guarantees the land ownership of all.
“Women are contributing almost 80% of the food that are being consume at the household level and yet they own less than 2% of the land. As a result National Alliance are taking the lead to bring stakeholders together to discuss about the development of this new policy formulation,” he noted.
The Chairman of National Alliance for food Security Lamin Fadera said NAFS is out to “work on food security issues which cannot be achieved without having a better policy to give us direction and guidelines of what to do.”
He said that policies are very important in the development of strategies.
He recalled that December 19th 2016 the NAFS in collaboration with partners organised a day meeting of stakeholders on land policy and the formation of multi-stakeholders platform on the formation of the national land use and management policy.
Ebrima Tamba Jammeh, Secretary General of the National Council of Seyfolu also spoke at the event and thanked the organisers for organising this forum, noting that it is timely in bringing stakeholders together to discuss about the new policy of land.
Buba Khan Africa Advocacy Officer, who represented ActionAid, said the meeting could not have come at a better time than now while emphasising the importance of land.
He challenged the participants to share their views during the two-day consultative meeting in order to have good policy guide lines.
