Gambia News : Gambia to present a $266mn five-year national investment programme to donors
Oct 18,2009 00:00
by
lamin
The Gambia is to soon present a $266 million five-year national investment programme (NAIP) at a donor’s conference, APA learns here Friday.The latest development in this regard was revealed at a meeting of civil society organisations, NGOs and members of the private sector in Banjul to sensitize them on the programme.
The meeting was organized by the National Planning Commission in partnership with the ministries of Agriculture, and Trade, Industry and Employment.
The forum provided the participants an update on current preparations for the forthcoming donor conference, as well as on support required for the agriculture sector.
In his introductory remarks at the occasion, the Director General of the National Planning Commission, Abdou Touray, said the preparation of the national agricultural investment programme was funded by ECOWAS and aimed to boost agricultural production for economic growth and food self-suffciency. He said the programme targets stakeholders in agriculture including the donor community.
The Chairperson of the NPC, Alieu Ngum, in his welcome remarks, pointed to the importance of agriculture to the development of The Gambia, particularly in enhancing economic growth , sustainable developme and poverty reduction as well as food security.
The Permanent Secretary Ministry of Agriculture Bakary Sonko called for diversification of agricultural production noting that the document before them was centred on the maximum exploitation of agriculture and other national resources in a judicious manner. He said it comprises six priority areas including development of agricultural changes ; market promotion ; water management and institutional capacity building.
Ada Gaye , the Deputy Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Employment also said the document was prepared in a consultative and participatory manner and had involved a wide spectrum of stakeholders so as to enhance ownership for the programme.
The Gambia, which imports 90 percent of the rice it consumes also has 50 percent of its cultivable land unexploited.
The programme is an offshoot of the AU/NEPAD’s Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) of which the NAIP is the national version. According to Ngum, with this, it is hoped to revitalise the agricultural sector and raise productivity and its contribution to national income and poverty reduction.