The article below was posted at AllAfrica.com from The Independent. Despite the announcements made by the Secretary of state for Agriculture that farmers will be paid their monies after the Eid Prayers the poor farmers are yet to see anything. How disheartening it is that a government can blatantly lie to it's citizenry. One thing these people must realize is that: "You cannot stay on the summit forever; you have to come down again. So why bother in the first place? Just this: What is above knows what is below, but what is below does not know what is above. One climbs, one sees. One descends, one sees no longer, but one has seen. There is an art of conducting oneself in the lower regions by the memory of what one saw higher up. When one can no longer see, one can at least still know." - Rene Daumal ====================================================================== Farmers Demand Their Money, Accuse Gov't Of Insensitivity The Independent March 9, 2001 Posted to the web March 9, 2001 Alhagie Mbye, from a tour of the provinces Banjul, The Gambia Hundreds of farmers in the North Bank Division (NBD) and beyond have called on the government to put the necessary mechanism in place to enable them receive their groundnut money from buying agents. They said they could no longer be convinced by "mere promissory notes" given to them during the past months while their nuts were carried away without payments. The farmers, who believed that they have not been treated with respect and attention, accused the government of insensitivity, claiming that the problem has persisted due to the government's disregard for their welfare. Desperate and furious the farmers, who described the non-payment as broad day light robbery, said they could not provide their families with proper food, shelter, and clothing as a result of the situation. They said there was a short-lived hope of receiving their money when they were informed that they would receive money before the Tobaski feast, prompting hundreds of them waiting for the buying agents for the whole day. "The agents never turned up," one of them said. The Independent was informed about the proposed payment and our reporter trekked up country from Kerewan to Farafenni and Kaur where many villagers waited for two days for their money only to discover that the buying agents were no where to be found. Farmers who suspended their various domestic engagements stood in different seccos looking desperate and withdrawn. Some who spoke to The Independent complained that as a result of the situation they have been rendered hard done by, unable to afford proper meals for their families. They noted that this was not the first time that farmers were given such "false promises". Last year they said also saw them in such trying situations following the delay in paying them for their produce "which we toiled hard to get". They demanded that their money be paid without further delay. Since the unceremonious seizure of the Gambia Groundnut Corporation (GGC) business premises by the government, the farmers said they started encountering numerous problems, claiming that this year they were unable to acquire the required fertilizer and loans in order to engage in proper farming despite numerous promises to that effect. The Farmers said their plight has worsened following the expulsion or suspension of their children from school for unpaid school fees. "How can government expect farmers to buy books, pay school fees, clothe their families, provide proper shelter with clean drinking water when certain individuals are still keeping their groundnut money away from them," asked Fasaikouba Ceesay a farmer in No Kunda, where farmers felt cheated. Bintou Sidibeh, an old woman in Kataba Village, stressed that it was annoying that their produce has been carried away to unknown destinations "leaving us with only promissory notes". "With no money for the Tobaski, no money to buy sugar, candle or cooking oil, we are definitely suffering and need some assistance", she pointed out. A shopkeeper in Kerewan also complained that since farmers were given promissory notes with a promise to pay them, they have incurred debts from shopkeepers who they cannot pay now. "I gave away on credit all my foodstuff because people are suffering but at the same time expecting money. So I have to help them. Now you see we are all encountering trouble," he added. However when Sarjo Jallow the chairman of the government spokespersons committee who is also the Secretary of State for Youth and Sports was contacted, he said that the government was not encountering credit buying and that efforts were being made to pay the unhappy farmers. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 2001 The Independent. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ====================================================================== Abdoulie A. Jallow www.dalasigram.com Making sending funds home more fun than hassle. 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