Yusupha, My reference to the poor quality of seeds was specific to Pa Modou's question about the quality of ground-nut output. It was never meant to explain away the 75% decline in output. In fact, ground-nut production went up last year but the problem was still the marketing and quality aspect that continue to dog the sub-sector. My position on the ground-nut marketing problem is that Alimenta should be invited back with specific guarantees. I hope Government will consider this proposal seriously. The sub-sector cannot afford to continue with the current arrangement which seems to attract 'investors' who demand government guarantee to purchase the crop. I cannot consider these types as serious investors and their presence in the sub-sector should not be entertained. As I write, farmers in the North Bank have started to sell their nuts to the senegalese middlemen. See the following: http://allafrica.com/stories/200212210032.html Please bear in mind that nuts sold across the border will not feature in our production figures. The reverse scenario was the case in the 70s, 80s and the early 90s when Senegalese farmers sold their nuts in The Gambia because they were paid cash instead of being handed IOUs as was then the norm in Senegal which bulstered our production figures. Moving on to the other issue, the performance of the economy is generally poor across sectors, including Tourism, and the Secretary of State has admitted that in his speech. It is true that the British Travel Advise following the coup dealt a devastating blow to the sector but it must also be admitted that the sector has recovered appreciably since then and actually inching to the 12% share of GDP. Anecdotal evidence suggests an increase in the number of visitors this year from last year. My concern is the impact of military presence in tourist areas in response to the so- called 'bumster problem'. Using private beach patrol while at the same time provide job opportunities within the current Coastal Erosion Project would be a better option. The Tourism Master Plan Study currently being tendered will provide a blueprint for the sector and better planning guidelines for future investment. The recently-established Gambia Tourism authority should be well funded to be able to effectively market The Gambia as an attractive tourist destination. Happy Holiday Season to ALL. Sidi Sanneh ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~