Africa-Press – Gambia. Agriculture Minister Demba Sabally on Friday defended the government’s decision to set the 2025–26 groundnut purchasing price at D38,000 per ton, pushing back against mounting criticism from opposition figures and radio commentators who say the rate shortchanges farmers.
Speaking during a stop on President Adama Barrow’s “Meet the People Tour,” Sabally said detractors were misleading the public by suggesting that a future administration could pay as much as D100 per kilo, a price he called unrealistic given regional and global market conditions.
Sabally argued that neighboring countries have not adjusted their own prices from last year and that The Gambia’s offer remains comparatively favorable. While countries such as Mali maintain lower rates, he said, critics continue to “politicize” the issue.
According to the minister, the international market price for groundnuts is below D25,000 per ton, far short of the rate set by the Barrow administration. The government, he said, is deliberately paying above market value “to support farmers,” adding that President Barrow “would willingly pay D100 per kilo if it were financially viable.”
Sabally said the state loses money on each ton purchased, earning no more than D25,000 per ton when reselling. The difference—roughly D15,000 to D18,000 per metric ton—is absorbed by the government as a subsidy, he said. Fertilizer subsidies also continue, with the state covering D1,800 per bag.
He told residents of the West Coast Region that the government spent D1.4 billion last year to make fertilizer accessible and an additional D1.5 billion to finance groundnut purchases. These expenditures, he said, reflect the administration’s commitment to rural communities and the agricultural sector.
The criticisms over this year’s pricing come as the groundnut trade season begins, a period that traditionally carries significant political and economic weight in the country’s predominantly agrarian regions.
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