culled from the Point newspaper 2/21/2002


                        Farmers Ask For Tobaski
                                 Money

                 As the holy feast of Edul-Adha commonly known as
                 “Tobaski” draws near, several farmers across the
                 country have expressed their dissatisfaction over
        the
                 government’s failure to provide money for their
                 groundnut proceeds inorder to take care of their
                 children clothes, rams and other necessities for the
                 event. The farmers who called at this office said
          that
                 credit buying is worse this year than ever before.
          They
                 said: “ Journalalisolou teeyaa notoo bay kereng ney
                 fang, fang” meaning journalist credit buying is
          definitely
                 going on, an old Baba Ceesay in Jarra told this
                 reporter.

                 According to many, the money that is normally
    brought
                 at the different buying centres is far less than the
           money
                 needed to pay for the nuts. The procedure, they
      said,
                 is first come first serve business whenever there is
                 news that some money has come. “If you are late, you
                 will find no money. ” Ali Mbye who claimed to be a
                 farmer in the Central River Division who do not want
                 his village to be named told this reporter that they
                 depend on their groundnut proceeds to buy clothes
                 and rice for their family members, particularly for
          those
                 of them who are not blessed with children sponsoring
                 them in the civil service.

                 Therefore government, he opined, should try their
                 utmost to wipe their tears. “We have suffered and
                 toiled at the mercy of snakes and scorpions during
          the season, and when it is time to get our money,
    we suffer
                 and cry again, this is very unfair,” he said. They
          called on the government to do something before the
    tobaski.
                 The state of groundnut buying in the past years, he
                 added, has been without its problems for years as
                 farmers were normally giving promisary notes to get
                 their money days or weeks later.








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