Agriculture in the Gambia
[1] The main cash crops produced in the country are groundnuts (also known as peanuts), millet, sorghum, mangoes, corn, sesame, palm kernel, and cashews.
[3] Some experts have proposed addressing these issues with crop yields by developing strong irrigation systems, which they note could be supplied through rainwater, the River Gambia, and underground water.
[2] Nevertheless, the groundnut trade has historically been prioritized by the Gambian government over time, having many implications for the country's economic growth, development, and stability.
[citation needed] Growing on more land gave farmers hardly anything in return which led to a decrease in groundnut yields as well as in farm incomes used to buy food.
[citation needed] In response, in 1940, the Gambian government subsidized food imports and mechanized agricultural work usually done with human labor.
[citation needed] Fast-paced urbanization coupled with increased demand for rice has been a common trend within many African countries, including in The Gambia.
[5] For many African families and workers that have lifestyles outside of the agricultural sector, it is more time efficient to prepare milled rice than other locally grown cereals for food.
[5] Initially, during the colonial period and by independence, native Asian rice surpassed the African variety in domestic production.
[8] Groundnut production increased due to foreign farmers coming to the country to work, further pushing The Gambia into the global economy.
[citation needed] Economic reforms passed in the 1980s that exchanged producer-protection subsidies with more market-based solutions and cheap imports also reduced local rice production.
[3][4][9] A significant amount of this imported rice is diverted away from food security efforts toward re-exportation to neighboring Senegal and Guinea.
[5] Thus, some find it unclear how soon or successfully millet production will increase to the level needed to greatly impact food security.
[10] During Jawara's term, the government started developing the agricultural sector by taking such steps as increasing extension programs.
[citation needed] The government also decided to excuse all loan repayments issued in 1979 and 1980 in an effort to support agricultural sector development.
[citation needed] This was done to incentivize innovation and competition in the agricultural industry, and promote self-sufficiency by making producer prices more predictable.
[13] It focused on increasing production for domestic consumption and foreign export as well as expanding the range of crops produced in The Gambia.
[13] Within the Vision 2020 plan, Jammeh especially focused on the mechanization of farming practices as his main goal for revitalizing the agricultural sector.
[5] Some experts claim that this shift toward privatization worsened the structural impediments to agricultural growth, such as the expensive transportation of crops.
[14] Finally, the government plans on developing the fishing industry as a way to address food insecurity, generate jobs, and relieve some of the pressure to cultivate high crop yields.
[15] According to the World Bank, Official Development Assistance (ODA) provides just under 200 million USD to The Gambia each year.
[16] In 2018, total foreign aid from international benefactors reached as high as $1.7 billion, as that was the year The Gambia initiated the National Development Plan.
[19] FASDEP's main focus is on small-scale farms which often lack the technology needed to successfully develop land and prevent negative impacts from climate change.
[citation needed] Additionally, farmers had to pay high amounts of credit since the project took place during declining groundnut production and the Sahelian droughts that started in 1970 and lasted until 1977.
[22] Section 33[5] holds that anti-discrimination stipulations in the Constitution do not apply to personal law situations such as marriage and divorce, burial practices, and property transfer.
[22] Because 95% of The Gambia's population follows Shari'a law, many experts contend that Section 33[5] allows unequal access to land ownership for women.
[23] Experts, including those from the International Fund for Agricultural Development, agree that complex structural barriers to women gaining land ownership also exist.
[26] Some international organizations, coupled with The Gambian government, are helping fund efforts toward reversing climate change effects on land and agriculture.
[28] This project is dedicated to both the restoration of forests and agricultural land and the implementation of sustainable technologies and practices moving forward.
[27] The Ministry of Agriculture is being provided with 14 million USD to support climate resilience efforts among rice farmers.
[7] Local farmers are also working to develop their livestock supplies as well as food reserves to deal with failing crops in the immediate term.
