Africa-Press – Gambia. Hon. Bakary K. Badjie, the National Assembly Member (NAM) for Foni Bintang has said that the decades long unresolved conflict in the troubled southern Senegalese province of Cassamance is shutting out thousands of Gambian farmers from accessing their ancestral lands.
This, according to Hon. Badjie, is a situation now threatening food security and livelihoods of communities living along the border areas of Gambia and Senegal.
In an interview with The Voice, Badjie says that farmers from his constituency many of whom have cultivated land across the border for generations are now too afraid to cross into neighbouring Cassamance, where Senegalese soldiers often mistake them for rebels.
“For years, these lands have belonged to our people. But now, they are forced to abandon them out of fear,” he said. “Even though there is no active fighting, the military presence remains strong. Farmers risk arrest just by going to their own fields.”
According to Badjie, the worsening situation has left many families relying on small, overcrowded plots within The Gambia, which are not enough to meet their food needs. He noted that some villagers have chosen not to farm at all this year, fearing confrontation with security forces if they attempt to return to their fields across the border.
“They can’t go on begging for land from others every season. It’s not sustainable,” he said.
The crisis has been compounded by last year’s failed groundnut harvest, a key source of income for many rural households. “Without a successful season, they can’t afford basic food like rice. It’s a serious threat to survival,” Badjie warned.
He emphasized that before the conflict, communities in the border region farmed freely and peacefully on both sides. But over 20 years of instability and mistrust between Senegalese forces and rebel groups in Cassamance have upended that way of life.
“Conflict has only brought fear and poverty. Negotiation is the only way forward,” he urged, calling on the Senegalese government to reopen peace talks and ensure border communities can safely return to their lands.
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