Mr. Kujabi, The article posted by Tombong Saidy says two things: First, that the Senegalese and Gambian farmers are more rational in their economic behaviour than the Amani-clad international civil servants, or our local counter-parts for that matter, give them credit for. If the reverse economic conditions, as described in the article, were the case, the same farmers would be demanding CFA francs and buying from the nearby Senegalese village instead. Development bureaucrats, like myself, should take note and acknowledge for once that farmers have as much economic sense as the rest of us, if not more. Second, the story further confirms that local businessmen/entrepreneurs given a free hand without the artificial trad e barriers erected by Governments, regional economic integration would have been a reality by now. Why did Tombong post the article? He can answer the question better but as far as I am concerned, I find the article as interesting as it is newsworthy. Sidi Sanneh ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html You may also send subscription requests to [log in to unmask] if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write your full name and e-mail address. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------