It really hurts to see that despite decades at it we have not learnt 
that the model that depends on big borrowing, big spending, irrigated 
rice development projects would not   work for the Gambia. The 
environment both physical and socioeconomic environment is just not 
right.  With dwindling water resources and Gambia's unflattering record 
of importing everything from machinery, spare parts, gasoline, 
fertiliser, seeds and whatever that comes with this type of farming, it 
should be clear to everyone involved that such a venture cannot be 
profitable in a world of "globalization and free trade". What is even 
mind-buggling is the choice of 3-ton rice miller over employing hundreds 
of able bodies in the community to mill the rice manually. I can contend 
that the money used in acquiring this mill would have been well spent on 
employing at least 100 people and their families  to manually do milling 
over the past 3 yrs without the need for spart parts. And knowing what 
divestitures mean in our part of the world, it can only be more cost to 
our farmers.

Malanding



Gambia: Sos Touray Explains Kuwait Rice Project Delay



The Daily Observer <http://www.qanet.gm/Observer/observer.html> (Banjul)

June 16, 2006
Posted to the web June 19, 2006

Alhagie Jobe

Mr Yankuba Touray, the Secretary of State for Agriculture, has explained 
the dalay in a rice irrigation project, commonly known as Baba Galleh's 
project, which was a Kuwaiti loan ratified in the National Assembly in 
1999/2000.

Responding to a question posed by Hon Edrissa Samba Sallah of Sami 
Constituency at the National Assembly, SoS Touray said that the Kuwaiti 
funded irrigated rice project had difficulties in attracting a suitable 
contractor at a reasonable and affordable cost. He said after due tender 
procedure for the land development works, only one contractor submitted 
a bid.

However, he said the bid price of US$8.05 million offered by the 
contractor was far more than the budgetary allocation of US$ 1.528 
million for the land development component.

He maintained that despite being aware of the fact that all the rice 
growers involved in this project were given the highest hope that this 
project shall commence as soon as possible, by demarcating the fields 
and asking them to remove all trees from their fields, he said, with the 
beneficiaries' enthusiasm to increase their productivity and 
subsequently their food security status, his Department of State has 
submitted a proposal to the Kuwaiti Fund, through the Department of 
State for Finance for the reallocation of all uncommitted funds to the 
institutional support component of the project.

According to him, this will enable The Gambia acquire agricultural 
machinery and equipment, in addition to pumping machines and control 
gates, which he added, will facilitate the performance of the task in 
collaboration with our developing partners operating in the rice 
production industry.

On the 3-ton rice milling machine at Kuntaur that has been lying dormant 
for almost three years, SoS Touray said that the rice milling machine is 
obsolete which makes it impossible to get the required spare parts.

This mill, he added, is a subject of diverstiture. He, however, added 
that in their efforts to empower rice farmers, his Department of State 
is piloting a rice milling component attached to the Jahally Pacharr 
Rice Farmers Cooperatives, and when this pilot scheme proves successful, 
the concept will be extended to Kuntaur area.





¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤
To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface
at: http://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.html

To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?S1=gambia-l
To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to:
[log in to unmask]
¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤