Gambia-L:

As usual, the e-mail below came from a source in the Gambia. I am sending it
as received - unedited.

Ebrima Ceesay

_______________________________________________________________________

>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: How poor am I ? PART II
>Date:
>
>Ebrima,
>This is the final installment of the Participatory Poverty Assessment
>report (PPA). My next installment will look at the results and
>recommendations from the National Household Poverty Survey (NHPS) using the
>quantitative (non-participatory) approach by deriving income from
>expenditure and consumption data.
>------------------------------
>
>LOWER RIVER DIVISION
>
>POVERTY - Poverty incidence was estimated at 86 per cent. The following
>were identified as the main causes of poverty in the division: Laziness and
>unwillingness to work hard for a living; extravagance and mismanagement of
>limited food and cash income;inadequate/erratic rainfall as a result of
>drought; labour intensive farming and inadequate off-farm income generating
>activities.
>
>FOOD SECURITY- some physical land problems, which contribute immensely to
>decline in production, are declining soil fertility, salt intrusion into
>rice fields, salinity and acidity due to prolonged periods of drought and
>persistent erosion. Vegetable cultivation, which is critical for food
>security, is under serious threat due to inadequate water supply.  Problems
>include low water table and water lifting problems.
>
>SOCIAL SERVICES - The rising cost of medical care/treatment and post
>primary education against the background of low family incomes generally,
>is making the attainment of "education for all" and "health for all" a
>distant dream.  Many people die of curable diseases due to ignorance,
>inadequate and untimely consultation and lack of finance. Potable water
>supply is not readily available in some of the communities and some women
>spend 8-10 hours daily collecting water for domestic use.
>
>SOLUTIONS - controlling and redressing the effects of both salinity and
>acidity in the rice fields through construction of dikes and liming
>respectively; construction of road bridges and causeways to and within rice
>fields will increase areas under cultivation and boost productivity;
>availability of power tilling and tractor ploughing services on
>credit/grant to ease labour intensity and improve production output;
>availability of adequate farming inputs, implements and animal drawn carts
>to improve production and timely evacuation of production; cash
>credit/grant and further training to those engaged in fishing, carpentry,
>masonry, blacksmithing, tailoring, baking, etc. to increase their
>capacities; strengthening existing seed and cereal banking schemes and
>establishing new ones to ensure food and seed security; training on group
>organization, leadership and management for local institutions.
>
>CENTRAL RIVER DIVISION
>
>POVERTY - Poverty is characterized by poor health, lack of income,
>landlessness, lack of skills, poor shelter, poor clothing, loss of weight,
>too much meditation and inadequate food.  In this regard, 94 per cent of
>households live in poverty.
>
>FOOD SECURITY - most households in these villages are food poor.  The food
>scarcity period is generally between June and August, which period
>coincides with "Saama" wet season.  This is also the period when food and
>cash produced from the previous year is finished and crop production is in
>progress so that people do not have much time to be off farm searching for
>food.
>
>SOCIAL SERVICES - The communities are fortunate to have access to many
>educational facilities from lower basic school, madrassa and maglis and
>high schools.  Problems with these systems is when kids complete and need
>to move to higher levels - fees to maintain them is always a difficult task
>for parents which in most cases leads to incomplete education.
>
>SOLUTIONS - provision of agricultural credit support and skills training
>opportunities, especially for the young people; availability in income
>generating activities especially for women; revival of the Gambia Groundnut
>Company (GGC) to facilitate employment opportunities as well as increase
>production; availability of milling machines and spare parts; cash credit
>facilities; improved social services especially health facilities; improved
>transportation services (road networks) especially in the north bank; and
>Institutional support for village institutions.
>
>
>UPPER RIVER DIVISION
>
>POVERTY - There is widespread poverty in URD - 99 per cent according to the
>results of this study and those mostly affected are women who, apart from
>domestic chores, are highly engaged in agricultural activities.  their lack
>of implements and draft animals affects their productivity, hence their
>labour is not compensated.
>
>FOOD SECURITY - For the people of URD there is no food security.  At
>certain times of the year, family food stocks go lean and are sometimes
>even totally exhausted.  This is caused by the people not being able to
>produce sufficient food to last them the whole year.  Most household
>livelihood depends on the women who depend on manual labour to produce food
>for the family.
>
>SOCIAL SERVICES - Human refuse disposal systems in the villages are grossly
>inadequate.  Distance to health care facilities is far with high costs.
>The situation with village water supply systems and their maintenance cost
>and eventual sustainability are causes of concern.
>
>SOLUTIONS - Hard work; availability of sufficient farming, including
>fertilizers to supplement soil fertility, particularly for women;
>sufficient rainfall and good market prices for their produce; good health
>for increased productivity; availability of market prices for their
>produce; good health for increased productivity; availability of wells that
>are functioning; credit assistance from other agencies operating in the
>area.
>END
>
>The Central Statistics Department, in collaboration with Action Aid The
>Gambia, should be commended for their invaluable input leading to the
>publication of these extremely important reports. All those agencies which
>provided financial, logistical and other forms of support should also be
>commended.
>
>
>

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