Farmers in Upper River Region are anxious about this year's trade season.

According to farmers who spoke to this reporter, the poor marketing arrangement of groundnut is the major factor contributing to the impoverishment of the farmers. They say last year's trade season was one of the worst ever witnessed by farmers in this country. According to them, the trade season was dull and sales at the Depots require a minimum of five (5) tonnes.

This they said, left them at the mercy of middlemen who purchased their groundnuts at cut throat prices since most of them could not even produce 1 tonne not to talk of 5 tonnes. Regarding two or three farmers combining their groundnut inorder to get the five tonnes minimum requirement at the Depots, the farmers said the combination of groundnuts is impossible since not all nuts are of the same weight. They said combining nuts would be at the detriment of one of the parties where the nuts are not of the same weight.

Regarding the prospect for this year's trade, the farmers asserted that their experience over the years taught them the lesson to produce more coos, corn and other grains for food and then produce less groundnuts which they can market at the local markets ('lumos') in case the poor marketing arrangements persist. The farmers concluded by calling on the Government to make proper arrangement in the buying of their nuts and to be in cash and provide fertilizer to them during the rainy season that could be deducted from them during the marketing of their nuts.

They also asserted that the provision of fertilizer during the rainy season when most of them are thinking of what to eat would be of little benefit to them since most of them would not be able to buy the fertilizer.

Src: Foroyaa, Gambia