Gassama, just thought that in the interest of FAIR DISCLOSURE people should
be aware of what the Agriculture Minister was reacting to. The same
newspaper you culled that article from (by the way, dated March 28) also
carried the following piece. Remember that your government was boasting that
there would be NO credit buying. Now, under pressure from the press they are
admitting that there is indeed millions of dalasis of credit buying. Only
God knows when the buyers will make good on the promissory notes.
KB
_______________________________________________________________________

The Groundnut Question

ASPA, the Agriculture Department and what is known as the Groundnut
Oversight Committee have decided to bring the groundnut marketing season to
a close next Wednesday. This is not the first time that releases emanate
from the Agriculture Department without informing farmers and the general
public about what is known as Credit Buying.
One could argue that the past releases could have been mute about the issue
of Credit Buying as the situation was then in progress. But if such a major
decision is taken to call the season to a close, the least to be expected
from the authorities’ last release is to venture a word about the much
talked about Credit Buying. This revolves around the issue of
accountability.

A decision was taken at the top level and not on a bottom /up approach as
the release itself was informing both the general public and the farmers
about a decision taken on an issue of life and death for many of them.
Farmers were not consulted as it clearly transpired in the release.

Number two, the release talks about the remaining groundnuts to be moved to
buying points. Here we are asking poor farmers without money to transport
their groundnuts within such a short notice. Are we not heading to a
dramatic situation should most of the nuts fail to reach seccos? But what is
also distressing, is that the ministry supremely ignores the concerns
expressed by farmers about their plight.

Credit buying was and is a reality but the authorities chose not to utter a
word about its magnitude or otherwise not to talk of remedial measures aimed
at addressing the phenomenon. We can understand that one is taken unawares
once, twice, even three times but a fourth time, allowed to age by days,
weeks and months following the general outcry turned an election agenda, is
honestly unbelieavable. What is urgently needed now is A Word about the
situation of Credit Buying from the authorities

Culled from The Point of March 28, 2002.


>From: Jungle Sunrise <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
><[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: This year's groundnut trade.
>Date: Thu, 28 Mar 2002 09:28:07 +0000
>


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