Africa-Press – Gambia. President Adama Barrow has shed light on the government’s decision to pay groundnut farmers through banks, saying it was a measure adopted to protect their money from theft.
Many famers have complained that the new payment system often cause delays in accessing their money.
Clarifying this issue at Maka Bala Manneh on Monday night during his tour, Barrow assured the farmers that there is good reason for the new payment system. “In the past, some farmers keep their money in bags or boxes which attract theft. So we had to come up with ideas on how to preserve and keep the money, so that you people (farmers) can get a hold of your money and also for government not to lose its money,” he explained.
The president further explained that government spent a substantial amount of money, D1 billion, and an additional D500 million, to purchase groundnuts from farmers.
‘This, coupled with increasing the price of groundnuts to D38,000 per ton, despite the world market price being D20,000, shows that government is committed to supporting farmers,” the president said.
The tour continued yesterday with meetings in Salikeni and Farafenni.
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