The government of Gambia has received donated agricultural materials like fertilizers and certified rice seeds from Rice Value Chain Transportation Project located at Sapu in Central River Region South of The Gambia.
The Ministry of Agriculture revealed the report and said the donation seeks to enhance the nation’s rice self-sufficiency, transform and modernize agriculture for sustained economic growth, food and nutritional security, reduce poverty and create employment opportunities for women and youths
Speaking at the ceremony, Honorable Amie Fabureh, Minister of Agriculture announced that the donation saying it aims to transform and modernize Agriculture for sustained economic growth, food and nutritional security, reduce poverty and create employment opportunities for women and youths.
RVCTPA
According to her, the RVCTPA project is a five-year project under the Ministry of Agriculture, funded by Africa Development Bank (AfDB) and the government of The Gambia at the tune of 7.7 million.
“The total number of direct beneficiaries of the project is 15,000 households, out of which 40% are women and youth. Beneficiaries across the value chain include farmers, processors, seed producers, input dealers, private sector operators and commercial agents. The development objective of the project is to improve farm incomes, rural livelihoods, and food and nutrition security and contribute to poverty reduction through increased commercialization of rice in The Gambia,” she said.
“The Project development objectives are expected to achieve through the provision of certified seeds of climate smart rice varieties and fertilizer to farmers, to production and productivity mechanization through the introduction of technologies to minimize the drudgery in production, harvest and post-harvest of rice,” she added.