The Select Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development has concluded a week of joint nationwide tour with the Central Projects Coordination Unit (CPCU) of the Ministry of Agriculture, visiting various agricultural project sites across the country.
The purpose of the tour was to monitor the progress and challenges in the implementation of several projects, assessing their impact on production and the innovations adopted by beneficiary communities and individuals. The aim was to determine how well these projects aligned with their intended objectives.
The CPCU, which oversees all agricultural projects across The Gambia, sought the joint oversight visit with the National Assembly Committee on Agriculture to identify areas that might require immediate government intervention for the effective implementation of the projects.
Led by Chairman Hon. Omar Darboe, the Agriculture Committee was joined by the chairpersons of other National Assembly Committees. This was intended to provide them with first-hand insights on the state of the projects and to stimulate their support to the sector in general.
“We need to be on the ground and see for ourselves what is happening with these projects. Our role as parliamentarians is to ensure that these initiatives are not just on paper but are being implemented effectively and achieving their intended impact,” said Hon. Omar Darboe, as he emphasised the importance of the oversight mission.
On the side of the Ministry of Agriculture, the visit was coordinated by the CPCU and involved the participation of various heads of departments, including the Department of Agriculture, Department of Livestock Services, their project staff, regional directors, and field workers.
Among the intervention sites visited were those funded by the Gambia Inclusive and Resilient Agricultural Value Chain Development Project (GIRAV), financed by the World Bank. GIRAV aims to support agricultural value chain development and shift the sector from subsistence to more market-oriented farming.
The tour also included the Rice Value Chain Transformation Programme (RVCP), which is financed by the African Development Fund (ADF). RVCP seeks to contribute to food and nutrition security and enhance economic growth by reducing rice importation, aiming to increase rice production by moving towards commercialised, market-driven farming.
Additionally, the team reviewed Project 2 of the Programme to Strengthen Food and Nutrition Insecurity in the Sahel (P2-P2RS), which is also financed by the ADF. This project aims to improve living conditions and food and nutrition security in the Sahel and West Africa, focusing on priority value chains like maize, rice, findi, small ruminants, and vegetable gardening, along with water irrigation infrastructure.
The Regional Rice Value Chain Development Project (RRVCDP) was another key focus of the visit. This five-year programme (2020-2025) is being implemented in The Gambia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Guinea Conakry, and Niger. Co-funded by the Lives and Livelihood Fund through the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), the Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development (ISFD), and the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA), RRVCDP seeks to boost rice production and productivity to reduce the region’s reliance on rice importation.
