Jungle, It is very true that the idea of technological backwardness weight heavy in the minds of many post Independent African leaders and forced some of them to choose side in the cold war,but to argue that it is responsible for our problem in food production is nonsense.Because no African country was involved in heavy industrialization programme.Infact what he is saying is not even new, our colonial masters have been saying this to us since before independence,farm the land. 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. This is also the reason why his excitement over the call by President Jammeh for the youths to returned back to the land to be some how ridiculous.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. 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. 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. For freedom Saiks ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~