Gambia Says 70 Pct Of Food Harvest Failed, Seeks Aid

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Gambia Says 70 Pct Of Food Harvest Failed, Seeks Aid

Wednesday, 07 March 2012 21:56

(Reuters) – Gambia has appealed for food aid after it said that 70 percent of its crops failed during the last growing season, extending the reach of a food crisis already hitting millions of people across Africa's Sahel strip.

Gambia's agriculture ministry said the impact of poor rains last year had been exacerbated by high world food prices, crippling household incomes in the West African state, which has ridden out previous food crises.

Aid agencies have warned that some nine million people across Mauritania, Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali and Chad are facing another food crisis this year on the back of poor harvests, high prices, the fall in remittances and conflict. gambia_farmers

"The post-harvest assessment of the 2011 farming season, which was characterized by below normal and poorly distributed rainfall, indicated a reduction in total crop production of more than 70 percent," Gambia's agriculture ministry said in a statement issued late on Tuesday.

The poor harvests of rice, groundnuts, millets, maize and sorghum had left villages with just two months of food supplies, down from the usual four to six, at the end of the 2011 harvest, it added.

The statement said the government could not match the needs to tackle the current food crisis and prepare farmers for the 2012 growing season and appealed for $23 million in seeds, fertilisers and food aid.

Gambia's President Yahya Jammeh, who seized power in a 1994 coup, has had a troubled relationship with donors, largely due to his country's human rights record.

The statement did not give a figure for the number of people needing food aid but officials in the agriculture ministry said just over 1 million people were in need.

Some 60 percent of the country of 1.7 million people, living in a nation completely surrounded by Senegal, are farmers.

Crops are usually planted in July and harvested in October.
(Reporting by Pap Saine; Editing by David Lewis)

Comments

+2 #14 2012-03-11 05:15

It just amazes me when these same leaders tell the west not to interfere in the day to day affairs of their people, but the same leaders will go back or criticize the West when they sit back and do nothing to help. I wish there will be no aid to the Gambia, because the more they depend on aid the less they will be motivated to find solutions to problems. Every great Government has a safety net for its citizens, and it is only in Africa that that such basic necessities are not first priority. A reasonable Government has backup plans, for food provisions, transportation, health care and for every aspect of well being. The lack of such plan nullified progress, we will never be self sufficient unless there is a safety for all citizens.

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+4 #13 2012-03-10 09:48

Folks, let us not forget that this same president told the world "to go to hell"!

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+6 #12 2012-03-10 00:19

Is just a propaganda, 90% of what we Gambians eat is imported into the country. Jammeh just need money for his own purporses. What the farmers need is just a loan to maintain themselves till next year.

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+8 #11 2012-03-09 14:20

yahya jammeh is the cause of this wastefully spending the state resources and no good mind to think of tomorrow. we are dieing and crying gambia is only in the hand of Allah not yaya jammeh who can rescue us.

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+10 #10 2012-03-09 06:35

This article is being politicizes, because of the stupid or should i say ill management that goes in the government, they complain when there is too much rain (never finding or use a strategic way to harvest the rain water into dams then later irrigate the fields). But guest what they are experts and never listen to utilize the significance of democracy, where everyone comes together to find solutions for a single task. It is sad when i heard such African leaders complain that we do not have the resources or all of our resources have been exploited. And the greatest of all human resources is our MINDS , which we never explore. How many Highly educated Gambian are now residing in the Gambian, and the government has not tried to tap into their minds, but in turn exploits their mind for the wrong purpose or reason. HOW CAN JAMMEH A HIGH SCHOOL DEGREE HOLDER DICTATES A PHD HOLDER IN AGRICULTURE ON WHAT TO DO? Just ask yourself this question. Ignorance is a diseases.

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-4 #9 2012-03-08 23:47

Jammeh Kunda,
look at the attitude and anger you approach this forum. You have no respect for your peers. Go back to what you wrote and check your language again. We need to be having constructive and respectful debates. I don't think such language is nice. thanks.

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+4 #8 2012-03-08 23:43

May Allah Bless Gambians and may he continue to provide for the needy. over 1 million people out of 1.7 million total population living in poverty thats a disaster and a hunger that can lead to severe calamity. Everyone should be helpful to their love ones because this Government is already a Failure.

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-9 #7 2012-03-08 23:11

Here we go again, the article is about an approaching food crisis and lack of rain,..... but no we want to politize it. Why can't we just take a minute (put politics aside) and think of ways to prevent this crisis. Blaming the government, Jahya jammeh, Kanili, the urban areas, etc etc would not solve anything.
We have the social networks all around us, why can't we use them to raise funds and awareness to benefit our country and region. We need to stop the blame game and start finding solutions.
Again, I know my comments would anger the career politicians on this forum, but am sorry in advance. You always talk about democracy and freedom, tell me, how can you have those without being independent and self sufficient?
Can we please think/talk of ways of preventing and solving this crisis?
For those who want to continue to blame the Government and Yaya Jammeh, go ahead, blame him for the lack of rain too.

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+9 #6 2012-03-08 16:56

People left their farms and go labour on Yaya Jammeh's farms all across the country for the past years only to be given little food or suger to take home, then the harvests are bagged in Kanilai Family Farms bag to be sold back to those same people....and we say we will be food self sufficient, we will be super power in 2020 and all the crap that comes with it.

@ Damlie,

The propaganda to get the Qatari cash has already happened when he jumped in to the Quran burning controvercy in Afganistant. This cry for food is the plan B, as Qatar isn't so generous this time around.

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