Can someone help clarify the following:
How many tractors are we talking about? dozens, 40 or what?
How are the tractors going to be used? Are they for rental or lease?  Who is responsible for their maintenance and scheduling?

Given most farms in the Gambia are owned by families and the average plot size no more than 1 hectare. Average yield of groundnut or millet in today's Gambia is about 1000 kg per ha, contingent on adequate rains, fertilizer, weeding and post harvest management. Average price of groundnut last trade season D8,500 per 1000 kg. Has the government asked the question, what is in it for the farmer or the Gambia to use tractors under such a system?

Tractors may be great technological advancement but is it really economical to have them in the Gambia?  With the price of diesel almost D40 per liter what would it take to travel to and  plow a 1 ha plot?

I am totally dumbfounded by the following statement attributed to the President.

“Since no one can show us even the parts of the tractors that were previously donated, then it will be discouraging for me to continue giving out tractors. But that doesn’t mean that I will not give out tractors; if I see somebody who is a farmer and is serious in doing that, I will give that person a tractor. But to give out tractors only for the beneficiaries to sell them out later will not be condoned,”

  If previous attempts to boost agriculture by giving out tractors were a failure, why pledge more tractors?

In fact it is my view that the Gambia's path to greater involvement in agriculture is not through more tractors or more government / Presidential largess. On the contrary it is the government involvement (since colonial days) in agriculture that has prevented us from realizing out potential. Most farmers would wish that the government would stay out of the business of being the landlord,  telling the farmers what to crop or where to sell and by how much.  To put it nicely the current system is no other than sharecropping where the government is the landlord and the farmer the sharecropper. This has been the main driving force behind people abandoning farming for other "productive activities". No matter how nice the landlord the faith of sharecropping will remain the same.

Instead the  government should provide the playing field and let the people decide what game they want to play and how.  Also the President's prominent role in farming has the unintended consequences of distorting the marketplace. His ability to mobilize resources cheaply makes it hard for other small farmers to compete. Unfortunately, those unable to compete give up quietly for fear of being misunderstood.  And it would not be long for the President to realize that he is only farmer in town. That is not sustainable development!

Malanding Jaiteh






Courtesy The Daily Observer @ http://observer.gm/africa/gambia/article/gambias-anti-hunger-crusade-boosted-as-president-jammeh-gives-out-dozens-of-tractors

Gambia’s anti-hunger crusade boosted As President Jammeh gives out dozens of tractors

Africa » Gambia

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

The president of the Republic has given out dozens of brand new tractors to the 40 traditional chiefs in the country, as well as the Ministry of Youth and Sports.

His Excellency Sheikh Professor Alhaji Dr Yahya Jammeh, who is also the minister of Agriculture, handed over the tractors to the beneficiaries Monday afternoon at State House grounds in Banjul, at a symbolic ceremony attended by Cabinet ministers, local government authorities, and National Assembly members, amongst a host of others. Even though the gesture was not the first of its kind, Monday’s disbursement of dozens of tractors has been described as a monumental boost to the nation’s efforts towards agricultural mechanization in view of the latter’s indispensable role in agricultural production and enhancement, as well as the efforts to rid the country of hunger.

It is anticipated that this latest move by President Jammeh in agriculture will go a long way in contributing to the realisation of the country’s food self-sufficiency goals and targets.

Speaking at the occasion, the Gambian leader harped on the importance of agriculture, while reiterating his clarion call for the citizenry to embrace agriculture to guaranty self-dependence, healthy living and dignity. The Gambian leader, while stressing that the gesture is apolitical, underscored that he has done what is expected of him in the pursuit of national development. “Let’s turn to the farm and work. If we continue to sit down and depend entirely on imports, it will not pay off. Let Gambians wake up, stand firm, have faith in God, and depend on ourselves,” he stated. President Jammeh stressed that if the citizens depend on themselves for the food that they produce, then they are assured of a better life.

“Eat what you grow”
While observing that a lot of alien diseases have become rampant in the country, something which he said could be attributed to the type of imported diets consumed, the president seized the opportunity to crave the indulgence of the citizenry to “eat what they grow” and reduce their dependence on imported foods. “Diseases have become rampant and what is attributed to that is nothing else but what we consume. Each time you read [the Daily] Observer or watch GRTS, you would see little children with ailments that you don’t even know where they got it. What causes that mostly is attributed to what we eat,” he said. He stressed that one’s independency and dignity is not guaranteed if what that person consumes for survival is [from] outside, stressing that all hands must be on deck to cherish the back-to-the-land clarion call.

Maximum care
The Gambian then leader stressed the need for proper care and maintenance of the tractors with a view to ensuring their maximum durability. He said: “What I have realised is that Gambians don’t take proper care of what is being given to them. The average life span of a tractor is more than a vehicle. But where are the tractors that we previously donated? Would that status quo continue?” President Jammeh averred that the investments into the tractors could have been diverted for other national development endeavors such as education, but stressed the importance of agriculture in ridding hunger.

“Since no one can show us even the parts of the tractors that were previously donated, then it will be discouraging for me to continue giving out tractors. But that doesn’t mean that I will not give out tractors; if I see somebody who is a farmer and is serious in doing that, I will give that person a tractor. But to give out tractors only for the beneficiaries to sell them out later will not be condoned,” he added.

Pledges more tractors
The Gambian leader also used the opportunity to announce that regional governors, the Gambia Armed Forces and the Gambia Police Force, will be handed tractors today, Tuesday at State House in Banjul.

Speaking earlier, the minister of Youth and Sports, Sheriff Gomez commended President Jammeh for donating the tractors, something he emphasised is meant to compliment his clarion call for the people to go back to the land with a view to enhancing agricultural productivity for both domestic consumption and export. The Youth and Sports minister acknowledged that the Gambian leader has long since advised the citizenry to turn back to farming, stressing that the country should now go more than the traditional three months farming activities.

While acknowledging that effective agricultural production cannot be achieved without the active participation of young people, Minister Gomez asserted that the country’s able personnel are now ready to partake in agriculture. He however urged them to be steadfast and double their efforts in the national development crusade, pointing out that they have a greater stake in the realisation of the development goals enshrined in the Vision 2020 and other blueprints. He stressed that there is no time to sit idle without doing anything, urging the youths to always think of what they can do to support national development strides. He further urged them to abandon their “ghettos” and walk on the path that has already been paved by President Jammeh.
 
Investment
Minister Gomez also used the opportunity to call on the public, more especially the private sector to invest in agricultural production, saying such is very viable. He stressed that the president and his government cannot do it alone. The Attorney General and minister of Justice, and the Health and Social Welfare minister, Eward Gomez and Fatim Badgie respectively, all hailed the move by the president. Both ministers expatiated on the importance of agriculture, while reiterating the clarion call by the Gambian leader for the citizenry to go back to the farm and “eat want they grow”.

The permanent secretary, Ministry of Local Government and Lands, Sahou Sanyang and the mayor of Kanifing Municipal Council and APRC national mobiliser, Yankuba Colley all hailed the Gambian leader’s generosity.

Reaction of the elated chiefs
The delightful looking chiefs who took the podium were full of praises for what the Gambian leader has done, something they said they have been yearning for long. The paramount chief of The Gambia, Alhaji Demba Sanyang extolled President Jammeh for the move, saying the gesture speaks volumes of the importance he attached to agriculture, food self-sufficiency in particular. The paramount chief then assured President Jammeh of the chiefs’ unceasing support and loyalty to him in the crusade of national development.

The chief of Upper Niumi, Lamin Queen Jammeh, who doubles as the secretary general of the National Council of Seyfolou, equally praised President Jammeh for the move, which he described as exemplary and outstanding. The Upper Niumi chief underscored that national development cannot be achieved without developing agriculture, while stressing that agriculture itself cannot be developed without mechanization, thus praising the Gambian leader for this foresight. While noting that all have been witnesses to the massive developments from July 1994 to date, Queen Jammeh also craved the indulgence of the people to reciprocate the many gestures of the president.

Bakary Badgie, Hammed Minteh Krubally, Jim Fatima Jobe, Alassan Davis Cham, chiefs of Foni Bondaili, Fulladu East, Jokadu and Nianija all joined previous speakers to commend President Jammeh for the move. They all assured that the tractors will be put into good use.

Ms Fatou Camara, director of Press and Public Relations, Office of the President moderated the occasion.

Author: by Hatab Fadera

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