Sister Jabou and Joe,
Its good we are taking time discussing this issue. Joe, just a few 
stats. In 2003, about 45% of economically active population reported 
being employed, 49% of these are in agriculture and animal husbandry 
(Census 2003). In other words no more than 25% of our economically 
active population really work on the farm. During a recent visit to the 
village (Feb 2006) it dawned on me that over 90% of my cohorts(Kafo) 
were either in Kombo or outside the country. The figure is much higher 
for younger people, many of whom leave the village as soon as they get 
to 9th grade just to arrive in Kombo to realise that their only chance 
to a living is to trek across the Sahara or hitch-hike on canoes to 
Spain and Canary Islands.

Joe, few Gambians depend entirely on the farming these days. Many would 
tell you they survive todays challenges because of remittance from 
family members who trekked or hitch-hiked their way to Europe and 
America. No wonder you still find fathers  and mothers selling the last 
cow/jewelry or compound for their middle-school dropout to risk 
everything including their life to Europe or the US.  Some Baddibunka 
man told me "in the past we travelled to Barra/Banjul or Cassamance 
(smuggling) to make a living.We will go to Europe if we have to." In 
sum, the drain will continue as long as it is the fastest way to a 
decent living. One that would help a Baddibunka man or a Sarahule man 
(who can't read/ write their name) feed his family and  save enough to 
become the new landlord  in the "Tubab Banko".

Given the above, the question  is how do we make the most of our buck 
with all the domestic and international  variables at play?  There is no 
doubt in my mind that the farmer in Sare Mankamang Kunda would give up 
life on the farm for a college degree for his child. And whether that 
child lives in Basse, Banjul or Seatle matters very little in today's world.


Malanding




[log in to unmask] wrote:

>Malanding,
>
>While I agree with you that  peanut farming is not the answer to our economic 
>woes and I certainly do not  have the answers, but I am just a little taken 
>aback by your suggestion that we  train people and then farm them out for 
>employment in the West. Isn't that  worsening the brain drain problem and what 
>about developing the home front if we  invest in educating our youth and then 
>sending them out to go work in other  countries?
>
>I can assure you that if I was able to find opportunities at  home, I would 
>not have ventured elsewhere and I have head this same sentiment  expressed by 
>many.
>
>Rather than framing out our youth to the West, I think  one area that the 
>economies of African countries in particular can be greatly  improved is if the 
>Western countries like the U.S and U.K for example open up  trade and allow 
>African goods to be exported to these countries without any of  the current 
>restrictions and quotas that result in imbalance of trade against  Africa. Along 
>with that, rather than institutions like the IMF and World Bank  lining the 
>pockets of corrupt governments on the continent and sinking African  countries 
>deeper and deeper into debt,  and if the intention is to help  Africa as they 
>claim, some of those funds can be used to make capital available  to African 
>entrepreneurs to start businesses and to encourage Africans to buy  African and 
>keep the money at home and create jobs locally. 
>
>As someone  involved in the import/export business, it pains me daily when I 
>see that all  the commodities we use on a daily basis in Africa is imported  
>and even  when it comes to the procurement of those commodities, the various 
>African  governments who place orders for these goods bypass African companies 
>in the  business to utilize outside companies mainly because they are looking 
>for  kickbacks in the transaction. In the case of Gambia, the APRC have 
>essentially  taken this business from the small business person and turned it into a 
>monopoly  for a select few.
>
>If you look at the U.S government, the Small Business  Administration puts a 
>lot of priority in assisting entrepreneurs to set up  businesses, from 
>providing grants, low interest loans and free services to  prepare business plans and 
>free mentoring from retired executives in SCORE (  Service Corps of Retired 
>Executives)who volunteer their services through the SBA  all intended to 
>encourage those who are so inclined to start small businesses.  All of this because 
>they realize the impact that the creation of small  businesses has on the 
>economy from increasing tax revenue to the creation of  employment opportunities 
>for the general public. The U.S government also  provides many good incentives  
>to small businesses if they create jobs and  they also encourage economic 
>growth in rural areas by providing grants to  entrepreneurs through the community 
>development block grants program if they  will start businesses in these 
>rural areas.
>
>Of course single crop farming  is an evil practice that was implemented by 
>colonial governments who basically  assigned each of the countries they 
>colonized different crops to grow which they  could then buy and import into the 
>Mother country namely the U.K in our case.  When this system was devised,  the 
>economic well being of the colonized  country did not feature in the decision. 
>Instead, it was designed with the  intention to meet the needs of the colonist 
>country who only cared that they had  different providers for what they needed 
>in their own economies without worrying  about the impact on the colonized 
>country then or in the long run. 
>
>In  terms of agriculture, encouraging farmers to grow multiple crops that can 
>both  be consumed at home as well as that have a market outside the country 
>and  working to help them gain access to these markets are other alternatives 
>that  can be looked at. Getting more people interested in growing for example  
>vegetables and even organic herbs to name a few, and to establish industries  
>such as canning and freezing of vegetables and our local fruits for export 
>etc,  and even tapping into the garment industry in the West by assisting  
>entrepreneurs to tap into this market by helping them to get manufacturing  
>contracts such as are offered to people in Asia are all things that our  government 
>can give priority to in discussions with our development partners  instead of 
>taking more loans that has no impact on the condition of  the  average citizen 
>in our country or elsewhere in Africa.
>
>Also working to  change the mind set that imported items are better than 
>locally made or locally  grown will go a long way in helping to keep money at home.
>
>I believe that  there are so many ways in which economic growth can be 
>stimulated in The Gambia  and the rest of Africa without compromising our own growth 
>in other areas  and  instead of training our youth and then farming them out 
>with all the  accompanying negative effects that may have in our overall  
>advancement.
>
>It is certainly an excellent topic of debate to see what  options we have 
>towards finding a solution to this dilemma.
>
>Jabou  Joh
>
>
>In a message dated 9/13/2006 3:06:15 P.M. Central Daylight  Time, 
>[log in to unmask] writes:
>Malanding Jaiteh  <[log in to unmask]> wrote: If one is to go by the NADD 
>Manifesto, The  Alliance's Document and the 
>statement by SoS Touray that the APRC government  is to provide farmers 
>500 tractors, looks like Gambians are poised for the  same old, same old 
>- dump more of our hard borrowed cash into the  agriculture basket. By 
>now it should be clear to all that the trouble in the  agricultural 
>sector is more than just lack of funding. Few would disagree  that 
>dispite two governments, aid from two Chinas plus the West and even  
>Iran, countless Departments of Agriculture, projects (Mixed Farming,  
>GARD, Jahali-Pacharr, LADEP) institutions and agencies (NARI, NADA),   
>and billion of  Dalasi, the Gambia is neither self-sufficient in food  
>production nor has it increase earning from agriculture. Infact the  
>contribution of agriculture to our national economy has been on the  
>decline while all these is going on. Given the current state of the  
>physical environment (climate and water resources) and economic  
>environment (globalization and crop pricing), it is hard to imagine what  
>agriculture can do for the Gambia.
>Given the above, I would argue that it  is high time we take a second 
>look at agriculture (represented by the Axe  and the Hoe on our coat of 
>arm) as the engine to national development  efforts since independence.  
>I would go a step further to ask the  incoming government (APRC, NADD or 
>The Alliance) to make a  "put man on  the moon" kind of declaration on 
>education. Cornerstone of this would be  immediate expansion of the 
>University system and begining 2010 to train free  of charge:
>
>2500 undergraduate degree and 100 graduates each year (2010 -  2015)
>5000 undergrads and 500 graduate degrees ( after 2015)
>
>In  addition to free training, the government should negotiate with US, 
>EU and  other large economies to help provide these with temporary worker 
>visa. In  return the students will be required to pay through their 
>employers 10% of  their salary towards re-embursing the Gambia 
>government. The idea is to  borrow and invest in a product more 
>marketable than peanuts.
>
>Some  back of the envelop calculation:
>At the end of the fourth year, with 10000  students * $2,500  per year 
>tuition is $25,000,000 (the cost of 500  tractors)
>suppose 50% of those landed in a job in the UK or US ($35000) per  year. 
>Remittance at 10% of salary  is $3,500 * 5000 = $17,500,000. Nay  Bad! 
>and defintely more than what we get from peanuts these days.
>This  would not include money sent home to family and friend, on 
>vacations  (knowing you do not have to worry about the visa office), on a 
>retirement  house or two (every Gambians wish).
>Infact we are losing that many to  immigration as we speak. Just that the 
>ones we are losing now are less  prepared to survive in Babilon, with 
>barely a driver license much more a  high school diploma to compete the 
>skilled labor from Poland or  Mexico.
>
>Perhaps I am just dreaming. Certainly I do hope its a dream come  true.
>
>Malanding Jaiteh  
>
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