Brother Oko Drammeh,
Great ideas and thank you for elaborating on the topic. I have no doubt that
these are the ways we can help our national economy, alleviate poverty for
our people and create jobs. We must develop systems that will solve our
problems in the long run as opposed to just postponing them or making them worse by
adopting temporary solutions that will just devastate our country even more.
Jabou Joh
In a message dated 9/15/2006 8:12:24 A.M. Central Daylight Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:
Agriculture is a Business
called Agri-business otherwise know as
Enterprenuerial Agriculture.
Read on: This subject cannot take two lines, sorry! that is why it is a long
text but without touching these areas the coming comments and remarks will
be mostly geared towards the things that you did not say.
The level of Consciousness
The election time is a call, a call for Gambian people to come out to unite,
to recognise their rights, their heritage, to build a sense of solidarity in
one common goal. To begin to define their goals, our country, our leaders
and to define our organisations and the conscience of our leadership. Election
time is a call to reject bogus values in our soceity. Every Vote goes down a
long way.
The task to Urbanisation
Hiding the pain of miseducation, to others, the burning issues are only a
shadow. After years of humilation and bad conscience, powerless and through
schattered history and powerlessness, it is not easy to rise from the offence.
The New century business trends:
The Gambia is not an agriculture, it is the Portuguses who brought in the
peanuts. It is not ours. But like my friend Abou, put it "with only 4 months of
rain and the soil is not too fertile"
Comments/ Mr. Mballow. The hoe, the backing tool that can't assist the
farmer to make a living. This is correct
Ecomonic growth stimulation
We should look into Business of raw material processing., products made in
home based business, green house vegetables that The Gambia do not
produce.There should be Funding for direct marketing options, value-added and
processing, organic marketing and labelling,
The new century
It is about trade secrets and devices and complimenting information which
given the opportunity to obtain an advantage over who do not know how to use
it.No matter what you do and what you grow you will need to sell inordser to
make profitif you are going tom stay in business.
You need resources that will offer advice on deversity developing new
markets and adding value to farm products to increase income and to support e.g.,
Sustainable: Multi corp farming, organic herbs, Organic farming crops, farm
energy compost water management. Freezing and foos caning and education lead to
succesfull sustainability.
The creation of Business is the livelihood for any viable economy/ Jabou
Here we need business skills for the creation of any business and ecomonic
growth stimulation.You need the system, approaches associated to it., appling
the principles, holistic managemet, farm landscaping plant and animal
prpduction,commercial fishinfg and sea food production culture to sustain
agriculture.servicing the global market on advice and service that aviable for your
country and for the world.
The US formula for supporting small business by assisting grants to
enterprenuers, priority in assisting enterprenuers and recycling the wealth into the
community is an investment that will pay off. This is the essence of capital.
Block-Grants Financial assistance for starters in the rural areas
For direct farm marketing, our farms must be included in guides to
agricultural producers and expositions in agriculturals fairs and in domistic and
international marketing assistance for the following: Here there is a need for
education.
Investment plan
Estate plan
Succession plan
Retirement plan
This will bring in general economic benefit to the local communities and
also increase spending in Nature-Based travel
1.Agro Tourism- Farmland viablity plan, opportunity for developing this
area by small agricultural farming.
2.Eco Tourism- A network of cooperation with farmers worldwide.
3.Nature Tourism -Conservation of the enviroment,strenghting an objective
for sustainable of tourism. Forestry, gardening, irrigration and landscaping.
4.Cultural heritage Tourism- Social cultural values,opportunity for local
land owners.
Fomular can provide a change
The Asian tigers are well supported when they enter a negotiation, they have
a diplomatic fomula aviable to them. China made France it touchstone for the
Europeaon Union as a whole which largely become china's largest trading
partner in the EU. They have already secure an opportunity for the thousands of
business angels and money gurus into Europe with massive gains.
Comments: A.Bobb/ In conclusion, The War in Casammance is getting nearner. I
lived in Liberia, Serirra Leone and IIvory Coast. I saw how it unfolded. It
will come over to The Gambia weather we like it or not.This is a thriving
business that the livihood of millions depends on both at home and abroad.They
have no regard for human suffering and humanlife.
Good order is the Foundation in all things
OOOopsss!-Typos if any........Excuse me please !
Oko Drammeh
www.okodrammeh.com
[log in to unmask] wrote:
Malanding,
agreed that few Gambians depend entirely on farming and having a hard time
of it I might add as we all know. I was not arguing against making education
more available and affordable (how can anyone argue against that?) but
rather
to the suggestion to invest in educating Gambians and then farming them
out
to other countries in exchange for remittances with all the long term
cultural
and economic ramifications that will have and those people are likely not
to
return home.
This is why the need to look at some of the alternate solutions I mentioned
will be important.
We also have to dispel the notion that educated people cannot be farmers,
farming is not limited to peanuts and small business ownership is not
limited
to just owning a shop around the corner selling candy and candles.
Educating people and then creating opportunities for them by giving them
the
support and resources they need to create different businesses and
ultimately jobs is the solution. The creation of businesses is the lifeblood
of any
viable economy.
Jabou Joh
In a message dated 9/13/2006 10:42:50 P.M. Central Daylight Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:
Sister Jabou and Joe,
Its good we are taking time discussing this issue. Joe, just a few
stats. In 2003, about 45% of economically active population reported
being employed, 49% of these are in agriculture and animal husbandry
(Census 2003). In other words no more than 25% of our economically
active population really work on the farm. During a recent visit to the
village (Feb 2006) it dawned on me that over 90% of my cohorts(Kafo)
were either in Kombo or outside the country. The figure is much higher
for younger people, many of whom leave the village as soon as they get
to 9th grade just to arrive in Kombo to realise that their only chance
to a living is to trek across the Sahara or hitch-hike on canoes to
Spain and Canary Islands.
Joe, few Gambians depend entirely on the farming these days. Many would
tell you they survive todays challenges because of remittance from
family members who trekked or hitch-hiked their way to Europe and
America. No wonder you still find fathers and mothers selling the last
cow/jewelry or compound for their middle-school dropout to risk
everything including their life to Europe or the US. Some Baddibunka
man told me "in the past we travelled to Barra/Banjul or Cassamance
(smuggling) to make a living.We will go to Europe if we have to." In
sum, the drain will continue as long as it is the fastest way to a
decent living. One that would help a Baddibunka man or a Sarahule man
(who can't read/ write their name) feed his family and save enough to
become the new landlord in the "Tubab Banko".
Given the above, the question is how do we make the most of our buck
with all the domestic and international variables at play? There is no
doubt in my mind that the farmer in Sare Mankamang Kunda would give up
life on the farm for a college degree for his child. And whether that
child lives in Basse, Banjul or Seatle matters very little in today's
world.
Malanding
[log in to unmask] wrote:
>Malanding,
>
>While I agree with you that peanut farming is not the answer to our
economic
>woes and I certainly do not have the answers, but I am just a little
taken
>aback by your suggestion that we train people and then farm them out for
>employment in the West. Isn't that worsening the brain drain problem and
what
>about developing the home front if we invest in educating our youth and
then
>sending them out to go work in other countries?
>
>I can assure you that if I was able to find opportunities at home, I
would
>not have ventured elsewhere and I have head this same sentiment expressed
by
>many.
>
>Rather than framing out our youth to the West, I think one area that the
>economies of African countries in particular can be greatly improved is
if
the
>Western countries like the U.S and U.K for example open up trade and
allow
>African goods to be exported to these countries without any of the
current
>restrictions and quotas that result in imbalance of trade against Africa.
Along
>with that, rather than institutions like the IMF and World Bank lining
the
>pockets of corrupt governments on the continent and sinking African
countries
>deeper and deeper into debt, and if the intention is to help Africa as
they
>claim, some of those funds can be used to make capital available to
African
>entrepreneurs to start businesses and to encourage Africans to buy
African
and
>keep the money at home and create jobs locally.
>
>As someone involved in the import/export business, it pains me daily when
I
>see that all the commodities we use on a daily basis in Africa is
imported
>and even when it comes to the procurement of those commodities, the
various
>African governments who place orders for these goods bypass African
companies
>in the business to utilize outside companies mainly because they are
looking
>for kickbacks in the transaction. In the case of Gambia, the APRC have
>essentially taken this business from the small business person and turned
it into a
>monopoly for a select few.
>
>If you look at the U.S government, the Small Business Administration puts
a
>lot of priority in assisting entrepreneurs to set up businesses, from
>providing grants, low interest loans and free services to prepare
business
plans and
>free mentoring from retired executives in SCORE ( Service Corps of
Retired
>Executives)who volunteer their services through the SBA all intended to
>encourage those who are so inclined to start small businesses. All of
this
because
>they realize the impact that the creation of small businesses has on the
>economy from increasing tax revenue to the creation of employment
opportunities
>for the general public. The U.S government also provides many good
incentives
>to small businesses if they create jobs and they also encourage economic
>growth in rural areas by providing grants to entrepreneurs through the
community
>development block grants program if they will start businesses in these
>rural areas.
>
>Of course single crop farming is an evil practice that was implemented by
>colonial governments who basically assigned each of the countries they
>colonized different crops to grow which they could then buy and import
into the
>Mother country namely the U.K in our case. When this system was devised,
the
>economic well being of the colonized country did not feature in the
decision.
>Instead, it was designed with the intention to meet the needs of the
colonist
>country who only cared that they had different providers for what they
needed
>in their own economies without worrying about the impact on the colonized
>country then or in the long run.
>
>In terms of agriculture, encouraging farmers to grow multiple crops that
can
>both be consumed at home as well as that have a market outside the
country
>and working to help them gain access to these markets are other
alternatives
>that can be looked at. Getting more people interested in growing for
example
>vegetables and even organic herbs to name a few, and to establish
industries
>such as canning and freezing of vegetables and our local fruits for export
>etc, and even tapping into the garment industry in the West by assisting
>entrepreneurs to tap into this market by helping them to get manufacturing
>contracts such as are offered to people in Asia are all things that our
government
>can give priority to in discussions with our development partners instead
of
>taking more loans that has no impact on the condition of the average
citizen
>in our country or elsewhere in Africa.
>
>Also working to change the mind set that imported items are better than
>locally made or locally grown will go a long way in helping to keep money
at home.
>
>I believe that there are so many ways in which economic growth can be
>stimulated in The Gambia and the rest of Africa without compromising our
own growth
>in other areas and instead of training our youth and then farming them
out
>with all the accompanying negative effects that may have in our overall
>advancement.
>
>It is certainly an excellent topic of debate to see what options we have
>towards finding a solution to this dilemma.
>
>Jabou Joh
>
>
>In a message dated 9/13/2006 3:06:15 P.M. Central Daylight Time,
>[log in to unmask] writes:
>Malanding Jaiteh wrote: If one is to go by the NADD
>Manifesto, The Alliance's Document and the
>statement by SoS Touray that the APRC government is to provide farmers
>500 tractors, looks like Gambians are poised for the same old, same old
>- dump more of our hard borrowed cash into the agriculture basket. By
>now it should be clear to all that the trouble in the agricultural
>sector is more than just lack of funding. Few would disagree that
>dispite two governments, aid from two Chinas plus the West and even
>Iran, countless Departments of Agriculture, projects (Mixed Farming,
>GARD, Jahali-Pacharr, LADEP) institutions and agencies (NARI, NADA),
>and billion of Dalasi, the Gambia is neither self-sufficient in food
>production nor has it increase earning from agriculture. Infact the
>contribution of agriculture to our national economy has been on the
>decline while all these is going on. Given the current state of the
>physical environment (climate and water resources) and economic
>environment (globalization and crop pricing), it is hard to imagine what
>agriculture can do for the Gambia.
>Given the above, I would argue that it is high time we take a second
>look at agriculture (represented by the Axe and the Hoe on our coat of
>arm) as the engine to national development efforts since independence.
>I would go a step further to ask the incoming government (APRC, NADD or
>The Alliance) to make a "put man on the moon" kind of declaration on
>education. Cornerstone of this would be immediate expansion of the
>University system and begining 2010 to train free of charge:
>
>2500 undergraduate degree and 100 graduates each year (2010 - 2015)
>5000 undergrads and 500 graduate degrees ( after 2015)
>
>In addition to free training, the government should negotiate with US,
>EU and other large economies to help provide these with temporary worker
>visa. In return the students will be required to pay through their
>employers 10% of their salary towards re-embursing the Gambia
>government. The idea is to borrow and invest in a product more
>marketable than peanuts.
>
>Some back of the envelop calculation:
>At the end of the fourth year, with 10000 students * $2,500 per year
>tuition is $25,000,000 (the cost of 500 tractors)
>suppose 50% of those landed in a job in the UK or US ($35000) per year.
>Remittance at 10% of salary is $3,500 * 5000 = $17,500,000. Nay Bad!
>and defintely more than what we get from peanuts these days.
>This would not include money sent home to family and friend, on
>vacations (knowing you do not have to worry about the visa office), on a
>retirement house or two (every Gambians wish).
>Infact we are losing that many to immigration as we speak. Just that the
>ones we are losing now are less prepared to survive in Babilon, with
>barely a driver license much more a high school diploma to compete the
>skilled labor from Poland or Mexico.
>
>Perhaps I am just dreaming. Certainly I do hope its a dream come true.
>
>Malanding Jaiteh
>
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