Saiks, you have rightly dealt with the fundamentals, development is a
multi-faceted ,multi-dimensional subject however, despite the range the
essence of development cannot change, for development to be meaningful it
has to be geared to to the people. Development must be people oriented as
well as people centred. If development is measured against any otjher
criteria it would derail it's essence and many a time people have committed
this error of interpretation, instead of people centre they try to establish
other objectives that would reflect other realities and this is and has been
the case fror many African countries. In other to measure development an
objective criteria must be established and against such a criteria one can
gauge how far the objectives hasw been realised. It is a truism to assert
that  humanbeings have certain  basic necessities to meet for survival;
first are the SHELTER, FOOD, CLOTHING, EDUCATION, SANITATION AND CLEAN
WATER. iIf these needs are adequately satisfied to the chagrin of the people
one can say that there is development notwithstanding the modern needs, such
as electricity etc. To be able to fulfil such needs it is obvious that
science and technology will have to play a pivotal role a role that is
indespesable in this day and age. Science and technology has evolved in a
way that we must embrace it to satisfy our moderrn day needs, science as you
rightly said is a friend and not and enemy, there are lots of
accomplishments we can reach with the enhancement and application of science
and technology. Without embracing and applying technology we will find it
extremely difficfult to fulfil our developmental needs,hence the notion that
technology and science are alien is a complete misnomer perpetuated by some
African romantics. The back breaking conditions of work our gerneratio has
inherited must be consigned to history, we must endeavour to embrace and
encourage technological application, without such we will not be able to
eradicate the backwardness that is characteristic iof our ways of life. It
is rather sad to see that we still use hoes hoes to do farming such archaic
tools most be consigned to the museums and we use technologically more
efficient and advance forms of tools. Technology does not have to be
complicated, sometimes through inovations we can modify it and use it to
serve our circumstances, hence the notion that they are western concepts
most be refuted and challenged, for their is nothing much miore dangerous
that to alienate us from scvientific advancement. I hope the government
instead of constatntly attacking the youths will endeavour to make farming
more techno0logically accdepted so that instead of producing sdo littyle
with millions of hours of work they will realise a lot with minimum effort.
Through increased production in agriculture and industrialisation ur4ban
youth idling will be substantially reduced. The way forward is therefore to
mechanise agriculture and link suh mechanisation with industrialisation. I
know a lot has been said by academics but little has been realised in
ptractical terms and unless we mechanise and expand our productive caqpacity
we will never be able to  meet our rfood and many other needs.

Complementing your assertions Saiks I hope someone is heeding somewhere.

>From: saikss <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
><[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: Something for the weekend.
>Date: Thu, 6 Jun 2002 21:11:13 +0200
>
>"……His reference to President Jammeh's call for our youths to return to the
>land is also quite appropriate here.
>   This is so because when Jammeh tells us to return to the land he is not
>referring to those who are already
>   there. He is referring basically to those without the skills or
>education to
>compete for the limited jobs in the
>   GBA but who, nontheless, would rather be roaming about our streets and
>doing
>nothing gainful."
>
>Jungle,
>
>Our attitude to what development is, in my opinion, is what is sometimes
>difficult to understand. The decadency in our towns is not because there
>are
>farmland lying barren just waiting for youths to plug their heads into
>tractors and change their status from been pest "roaming about our streets
>and
>doing nothing gainfull" to become professional farmers.
>What is real and the truth is that we have a government that prefers taking
>loan to build a four lane highway in the middle of the biggest town in our
>country whiles our farmer continue to struggle with a back breaking hoe in
>a
>futile attempt to feed a nation rapidly growing and promote economic
>development. It is not poor "uneducated" farmers who are thinking this way,
>it
>is the Dr, and half educated and well educated people who are doing such
>thinking.
>Going by the geography of rice production in our country, you will find out
>that even at the surroundings of Gambia high school, as late as the 70s
>urban
>dwellers were growing rice there.
>The call for a return back to the land is a call for political
>consumption,I
>will come to that. This call even if sincere, is not seriously taking note
>to
>the need of our nation. The call is geared towards the urban youths and my
>argument is that, we don't need more farmers, better the condition
>(Socaily,
>economically and technically) of the farmers we have and our food problem
>will
>be solved. It is as simple as this and anything else is political
>propaganda.
>
>Why because, unemployment has not been reduced in the urban areas, since
>this
>government came to power, it has been increasing, there is the Rural /urban
>migration rapidly taking palce, because farming have become more and more
>impossible to live by, not even a decent two meal a day is easy. We read
>this
>every now and then in Gambian newspapers. The state has not been able to
>create jobs and her policy, on for example, the groundnut-growing sector,
>is
>creating more uneploytment. Instead of using her energy to address this
>serious situation, the state behaves as if the problem is that urban youths
>don't want to work but there is work to do. The same sentiments you
>expressed
>at the end of your above quoted statement.
>
>".. At least such people would be able to make our
>   farmers better understand how certain farming practices may be more
>appropriate than others. They would
>   also be in a better position to use fertilizers more appropriately as
>well
>as a more effective use of manure and
>   compost. This line of thought is supported by Dr. Edgar, when he wrote:"
>
>If you, President Jammeh and the Dr believed that what is needed here are
>technical experts to guide our farmers in the technicalities of farming,
>why
>make it a political jargon when all you need is to build educational
>training
>facilities and more emphasis on agriculture in the educational curriculum
>at
>all level, all of which are at the disposal of president Jammeh.But if you,
>the Dr and President believed that an educated farmer is more productive
>than
>the uneducated then this will mark the first failure on the way  for a more
>productive farming for sufficient food production.And jungle,you and the DR
>should by now understand that there are very few farmers in this world who
>care less about a college certificate and this did not make them poor
>farmers.
>You don't need any formal education to become a good farmer. The problem is
>not even that our farmers are uneducated (illiterates) thus are poor
>farmers
>and not able to produce enough food, the problem is that the majority of
>our
>farmers are still using a back breaking hoe and getting paid.
>Simple thinking, what is the on going programme for the majority of the
>Gambian population who are the "uneducated" farmers? Will those are not
>paid
>get their monies? what will happen to them if the most productive sector in
>farming is controlled by the "educated" youths? Another important thing
>that
>you and the Dr are not informing us about China, is that farming in some
>areas
>is of high technical quality, Chine is producing and selling rice but there
>are Chinese who are very hungry because they are poor. Your"line of
>thought"
>might very well succeed in marking Gambia a high quality rice producing
>nation
>whiles Gambians go hungry. Just like the other story we read in the
>Independent newspaper, that people were complaining for not been able to
>buy
>fish because it is not available in the market, and Gambia is one of the
>few
>remaining big fishing nations.
>
>For freedom
>saiks
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> >===== Original Message From The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
><[log in to unmask]> =====
> >As a small contribution, I wish to point out that "self-sufficiency" in
>food
>may not always be a realistic goal given the ever changing conditions for
>agricultural production and of world economy. What may be more realistic to
>aim at is food security. If we can't produce it ourselves we should be
>economically strong enough to purahse it.
> >  ----- Original Message -----
> >  From: Jungle Sunrise
> >  To: [log in to unmask]
> >  Sent: 02 June, 2002 3:53 PM
> >  Subject: Re: Something for the weekend.
> >
> >
> >  Saiks wrote:
> >
> >  "Why is it that more than half of our population are involved in
>agriculrural production and still hungry,whiles in America and Europe a
>very
>few percent of their population are involved in food production and have
>enough food for themselves and the left overs for us(Food Aid) ?The truth
>is
>that, agricultural production is very backward in our country and not
>industrilised,been at the stage it is,there will be no enough labour power
>to
>produce enough food for ourselves".
> >
> >  Saiks, Dr. Edgar answered your querries when he wrote:
> >
> >  "Given the necessary investment and programs, The Gambia should be
>self-sufficient in rice production in 5 to 10 years."
> >
> >  The above statement gives hope to the average Gambian who relies on the
>daily intake of rice for survival and a challenge for government to provide
>"the necessary investment and programs".
> >
> >  He then talks of the need for diversification when he wrote:
> >
> >  "Of course, the potentials for agricultural production are not limited
>to
>rice production only. There are vegetable crops, fruit production and
>aquaculture".
> >
> >  He also acknowledged the daunting task that the average farmer has to
>overcome when he wrote:
> >
> >  "However agricultural production is not cheap and easy either. Initial
>investments and technical know-how are essential; social and cultural
>changes
>are necessary for its success. Expensive or difficult, there is no
>alternative
>to a healthy development (note: more than economic development) other than
>agricultural development initially.
> >
> >  He then posits that:
> >
> >  "Only through the surplus from the agricultural sectors, the
>small-medium
>business and industrial sectors can take off".
> >
> >  [All emphsis mine]
> >
> >  Do you not agree with the above statement?
> >
> >  If you agree with the above statement and the ones before it, then I do
>not
>see why you ask the following questions:
> >  "Who told him we have shortage of agricultural labour force in our
>country,the crude nature of agricproduction is not only a health
>hazard(back
>breaking,early old age) for the majority of our population but a
>contributing
>factor to the destruction of the eco-system in our country,just think of
>all
>the bush fires for more farm lands and etc.Think of the massive poverty
>caused
>by farming in the country and yet still we are demanding for more farmers.A
>better organization of farming is more of our need now and not more
>farmers".
> >
> >  You again wrote:
> >
> >  "His discussion of the eco-system seems confussing but should direct
>that
>too to the president,that having crocodiles pounds and other animals at
>Kaninlia are equally dangerous to the eco-system, because it is not their
>natural breeding place.
> >
> >  Saiks,
> >
> >  Dr. Edgar's reference to ecology and ecosystems was to give us an idea
>of
>from what perspective he was seeing agriproduction that is sustainable and
>can
>act as a catalyst for the development of small-medium businesses as well as
>nations.
> >
> >  His reference to President Jammeh's call for our youths to return to
>the
>land is also quite appropriate here. This is so because when Jammeh tells
>us
>to return to the land he is not refering to those who are already there. He
>is
>refering basically to those without the skills or education to compete for
>the
>limited jobs in the GBA but who, nontheless, would rather be roaming about
>our
>streets and doing nothing gainful.
> >
> >  Secondly, if we agree that the way agriculture has been practised in
>the
>country since time immemorial has not yielded much dividents, then I
>believe
>we ought to rethink our farming methods and strategies; and who better to
>do
>that than the educated and semi-educated. At least such people would be
>able
>to make our farmers better understand how certain farming practices may be
>more appropriate than others. They would also be in a better position to
>use
>fertilizers more appropriately as well as a more effective use of manure
>and
>compost. This line of thought is supported by Dr. Edgar, when he wrote:
> >
> >  "Sure enough, the average output per hectare increased from 1.15 tons
>to 5
>tons. The team with The Gambia Agricultural Experimentation Station is
>trying
>to improve the production by a new strain Nerica (New Rice for Africa), and
>improve the soil condition".
> >
> >  This was possible because of research done by the Taiwanese
>Agricultural
>Team in the country and their Gambian counterparts. These people carried
>out
>research with over 800 species of rice and finally selected the best 6
>varities that are better adapted to The Gambian lowland environment, and to
>the rain-fed conditions. The absolute majority of our farmers can be here
>for
>the next 300 years and they will never come this close if they are still
>left
>on their own to do things they've always done them!
> >
> >  The fact that:
> >
> >  "All in all, in less than 5 years, the areas of rice paddies in The
>Gambia
>have increased to 6350 hectares. Annual production of rice almost doubled
>from
>18,950 tons in 1996 to 34,100 tons in 2000, saving more than $3 million
>foreign exchange for importing rice.
> >
> >  Great potential to expand areas for rice production exist in The
>Gambia.
>Currently, plans are underway to design and develop tidal irrigation system
>to
>increase the areas to more than 400 hectares in five years. Potentials for
>the
>areas utilising the rain resource during the rainy season also exist.
>According to the estimate, additional increase in rice production 115,600
>tons
>per year is not an unreachable target",
> >
> >  can also be attributed to educated people showing a selected population
>of
>farmers how they can better farm rice.
> >
> >  You again wrote:
> >
> >  "Off course there are external factors,but overshadow by the internal
>ones.Thinking here more the hypocritical standpoint of both the World Bank
>and
>other financial institutions on the question of agricultural subsidy,whiles
>denying third world government to do that,the richest nation in the
>world,USA,is still involved in subsidising agricultural farming and here is
>a
>country with over production of agricultural food.Well I can understand
>this
>gentlman of the eco-system,that he has a political programme to promote,but
>it
>is much more better for him to hold on to that than involved himself in our
>politics with so a heavy opinoin,without having much knowledge of our
>poverty
>problems Turn our youths to scientists and keep them off the land,pay the
>farmers their Moines so that they can be more productive".
> >
> >  Finally Saiks, Dr. Edgar's reference to China's policy of not paying
>much
>attention to agriculture but instead focussing more on industrialisation is
>something that should worry the average poor nation, particularly those in
>sub-Saharan Africa. This is because we are not in a position to compete
>with
>China for world-market food products when the liveihood or security of
>their
>state depends on it.
> >
> >  At the moment, there is zilch we can do about farm subsidies by either
>the
>EU or America except grumble and plead with them. There is also very little
>we
>can do about the worldbanks and IMFs of this world who, while prohibiting
>us
>from giving subsidies to our farmers completely stay mute about subsidies
>by
>the EU and the USA. For these reasons, we need to diversify agriproduction
>so
>as to at least be able to feed ourselves and have some surplus to market. I
>am
>sure both the EU and American scientists are busy researching how to
>cheaply
>produce those traditional third world produce. It is therefore our
>collective
>responsibility to advise each other as to how to do things differently and
>better.
> >
> >  Have a good day, Gassa.
> >
> >  There is a time in the life of every problem when it is big enough to
>see,
>yet small enough to solve. -Mike- Levitt-
> >
> >
> >
> >-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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