GAMBIA – The Gambia Priority Employment Programme (GAMJOBS) on Wednesday, 16 November, organized a one day validation workshop at the Baobab Holiday Resort in Kololi on Value Chain Analyses of dairy and poultry industries in Gambia.

The objective of the value chain analyses is to assess the current situation of the dairy sub-sector and the poultry industry in a bid to identify constraints and opportunities for growth and development of the sub-sector and the industry with a view to promoting investment and employment opportunities particularly for women and the youth. The assessment proposes recommendations and priority actions to be implemented as well as outcomes to be monitored, according to AllAfrica.com.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Naffie Barry highlighted that the value chain analysis is coming at a time when Gambia is addressing unemployment and poverty through the auspices of the Gamjobs Project and the Programme for Accelerated Development and Growth (PAGE).

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The Executive Director of the National Women Formers Association (NAWFA), Mr. Njag B. Jawo has stated that sesame production has made a tremendous progress in the market. He made this revelation at a press briefing held in their head office at Kairaba Avenue on Tuesday 12th January.

He noted that over the years sesame producers faced certain challenges that hindered their work but added that all these challenges have now tackle. He revealed that the challenges include lack of reliable market and low price paid for the crop. He further revealed that now they have got progress on reliable market and also the price of sesame is D18.00 to D20.00 per kilo which he said is very good for producers. He boasted that NAWFA has done all its efforts to eradicate all the challenges facing sesame production by working hand in hand with partners and buyers of sesame.

He outlined the importance of sesame, noting that sesame is a highly valuable crop that is medicinal and can also go a long way in achieving good health for humans. “It has been recognised that it is very high nutritional crop for animal hygiene,” he said.

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The Secretary General of the Cotton Growers Association, Mr. Omar Sompo Ceesay, has revealed that his association is expecting to harvest over thirty five tons of cotton produced by the farmers in both Central River and Upper River Regions.

According to him, the thirty hectare worth of cotton inputs put on pilot basis in selected communities in the two regions has registered remarkable success. This, he said, is a clear manifestation that farmers are willing and ready to revitalise cotton production in the Gambia. He said villagers that are part of the pilot such as Sare Sori, Jareng and Sare Ellemala have done extremely well. He however expressed concern over the dormancy in the only cotton company (GAMCOT).

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Banjul — The deputy permanent secretary at the Ministry of Fisheries, Water Resources and National Assembly Matters, Amadou Saine, has reiterated Gambia government’s primary objective of maintaining fish export to the European Union (EU) markets as its trade destination. “We are also committed to remain accredited on list one of countries eligible to export to the EU” he said.

DPS Saine made this revelation yesterday, while presiding over the official opening of a five-day national capacity building training on sanitary and phytosanitary systems in fish and fishery products for inspectors in food safety, animal and plant health at the conference hall of the National Nutrition Agency (NaNA). The training is organised by the Fisheries Department and funded by the United Nation’s Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO).

Obtaining accreditation, Saine said, has not been without difficulty and that its maintenance is constantly threatened by the constraint of inadequate capacity. He observed that there are numerous shortcomings in the official control of fishery products by the competent authority for various reasons.

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