{"id":94546,"date":"2026-02-20T15:12:37","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T15:12:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/uncategorized\/champion-farmer-lauds-support-for-gambias-independence"},"modified":"2026-02-20T16:14:29","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T16:14:29","slug":"champion-farmer-lauds-support-for-gambias-independence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/champion-farmer-lauds-support-for-gambias-independence","title":{"rendered":"Champion Farmer Lauds Support for Gambia&#8217;S Independence"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"ap-article-header-tag\"> <strong>Africa-Press &#8211; Gambia. <\/strong> <\/span><b>As The Gambia celebrates its 61st Independence anniversary, prominent farmers have lauded government support, highlighting progress in agricultural production and productivity.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Under the <b>Programme for Accelerated Community Development (PACD)<\/b>, the government continues to allocate resources to strengthen the participation of women and youth in agriculture, while expanding access to basic amenities and infrastructure. The programme aims to reduce rural\u2013urban inequalities and foster inclusive growth nationwide.<\/p>\n<p>Alagie Jawo Drammeh, the eldest community leader in Kerewan, North Bank Region, recalled the country\u2019s agricultural journey from the colonial era to the present. He highlighted periods of severe food insecurity, when families struggled to afford three meals a day, prompting young men to migrate seasonally to Kaolack, Dakar, and other neighboring countries in search of employment.<\/p>\n<p>Drammeh shared his personal experience in 1959, farming groundnuts at Nema Kunku in Upper Nuimi and harvesting nine and a half bags, valued at less than D100 in total. He noted that family farming promoted unity and social cohesion within communities.<\/p>\n<p>Community elder Jawara emphasized that farming has become a lucrative venture today, with farmers earning thousands of dalasis from groundnut production, aided by government support. He recalled being among the first in Kerewan to build a cement-block house when a bag of cement cost D5 and transport from Barra to Kerewan was 50 bututs. Jawara urged youths to respect cultural norms and remain law-abiding.<\/p>\n<p>Chief Alagie Jagne of Central Badibou, also a champion farmer in Njaba Kunda, praised President <b>Adama Barrow<\/b>\u2019s government and agricultural projects for delivering high-quality inputs on time. He reported cultivating more than 10 hectares of groundnuts, early millet, and maize, along with five hectares of rice. With the current farm-gate price of groundnuts at D38, Chief Jagne encouraged farmers to invest in quality seeds to ensure timely sowing and planting.<\/p>\n<p>Momodou Loum, a <b>GIRAV Matching Grant<\/b> beneficiary from Toroba, Lower Badibou, highlighted government support for poultry breeding, hatchery machinery, and integrated farming. He emphasized the role of the <b>Department of Strategic Policy and Delivery<\/b> under PACD, in collaboration with <b>UNDP<\/b>, which provided two four-wheel-drive tractors worth over D5 million to communities in Ndofan and Toroba. Loum urged youths to acquire agricultural skills to enhance national food security.<\/p>\n<p>Saikou Kanteh, President of the <b>Regional Rice Growers Association (North Bank Region)<\/b>, acknowledged the contribution of the <b>ROOTS Project<\/b> in establishing the association, subsidizing inputs, and supporting youth matching grants. These initiatives have promoted rice cultivation and eased transportation of produce to markets.<\/p>\n<p>Alh. Modou Touray, a champion farmer in Upper Badibou, said government support has transformed agricultural production. He highlighted assistance from GIRAV and the <b>Gambia Food Security Project<\/b>, which provided improved seeds, equipment, market linkages, and capacity-building. Touray also noted a partnership between <b>Younna Financial Services<\/b> and the Ministry of Agriculture as a milestone in supporting farmers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ap-article-footer-note\">Find more news and analyses on <span class=\"ap-highlight-country\">Gambia<\/span> on the <span class=\"ap-highlight-brand\">Africa Press<\/span> website<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press &#8211; Gambia. As The Gambia celebrates its 61st Independence anniversary, prominent farmers have lauded government support, highlighting progress in agricultural production and productivity. Under the Programme for Accelerated Community Development (PACD), the government continues to allocate resources to strengthen the participation of women and youth in agriculture, while expanding access to basic amenities and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":94545,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,5],"tags":[260],"class_list":["post-94546","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-economy","tag-gambia"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Champion Farmer Lauds Support for Gambia&#039;S Independence - Gambia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"-article-header-tag&quot;&gt; Africa-Press - Gambia. 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