Is this the case of one step forward, two steps backward.....? While 
there may be genuine desire on the President's part for the Gambia to 
realize the goal of self-sufficiency in food, I believe this current 
approach can only make it harder for others to join in. The seemingly 
endless supply of volunteer labor can only make it harder for aspiring 
or already struggling small-time farmers to break-even.
To put things in perspective, the per capita consumption of rice in The 
Gambia is around 90kg(taking Senegal's consumption figures). Upland rice 
in the Gambia yields are about 1000 kg per ha. This suggests that unless 
the President is prepared to claim 120,000 ha (~12% of the Gambia's land 
area) as his own with citizen volunteers led by military chiefs, 
governors, cabinet secretaries and mayors as cheerleaders the dream of 
turning Gambia into a net exporter of rice will continue to be a dream.

500 people from KMC to Kanilai and back (240km) would need at least 
D18,750 fuel. 10 buses (15 gallons of diesel @ D125 per gallon). in 
addition to D12,500 for food and entertainment (D25 per person). Total 
D31,250 for one day on the President's farm. How many such trips are 
needed over the year? How are we accounting for such expenses? More 
importantly where did the money that made it possible for the 500 people 
to participate come from?

Malanding Jaiteh





  KMC mayor calls for massive investment in farming

<http://observer.gm/africa/gambia/article/kmc-mayor-calls-for-massive-investment-in-farming#map>africa 
<http://observer.gm/africa/news> » gambia 
<http://observer.gm/africa/gambia/news>

Tuesday, November 18, 2008
The mayor of the Kanifing Municipal Council, Yankuba Colley, has called 
on Gambian entreprenurs to take up farming as a major investment.

Mayor Yankuba Colley was speaking to reporters over the weekend at the 
45-hectare Jiramba rice field. This is one of the biggest of President 
Yahya Jammeh’s farms in Kanilai. The KMC mayor had led a delegation of 
over 500 people from his municipality to the farm to harvest the rice.

Aware of the fact that large scale farming requires huge investments, 
Mayor Colley noted that the role of the country’s private sector cannot 
be overemphasised. “I am appealing to the rich investors to take the 
lead and invest in farming.

This move will ensure the attainment of our food self-sufficiency 
goals,” he stated. “In the western countries, many rich people are 
farmers. So I believe that we stand every chance to be like them if we 
want to,’’ he remarked.

Commenting on President Jammeh’s farming activities, the KMC mayor 
expressed his delight with the farming activities going on at the 
Gambian leader’s farms in Kanilai. According to him, President Jammeh’s 
move to ensure food self-sufficiency in the country is a wonderful one.

He told the Daily Observer that the president’s main objective is to 
enable The Gambia to be an exporter of various foods. He further 
observed that the Gambian leader’s clarion call for the people to go 
back to the land has paid dividend.

Mayor Yankuba Colley urged Gambians to follow the footsteps of the 
Gambian leader.

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