| FARMERS’ EYE Bags deteriorating and Groundnuts wasting in Baati Njol Monitoring The Trade Season, Part 10 By Abdoulie G. Dibba Nuts wasting at secco as sacks burst Talking to this reporter at the Baati Njol Secco, farmers indicated that no buying of groundnuts is taking place due to the fact that for a month now their Secco lacks cash to buy the nuts. Sacks have burst and groundnuts were scattered all over the secco. The farmers said the way the trade season is faring this year has left much to be desired because of the inconsistent flow of cash into their secco. The farmers explained that since the start of the trade season in December 2009, funds have been disbursed by the GGC to their Secco four times and that the last disbursement was in the early part of January; that with this disbursement, the Secco was given D280, 000, which is equivalent to 30 tons of groundnuts. The farmers told this paper that there are over 100 tons of groundnuts in the Secco which has already been screened and only waiting to be weighed. They said this weighing could not be done because of lack of cash at the Secco. The farmers also said that what they have stored, waiting to be sold is approximately 1500 tons. They called on the Government and GGC to help them with funds before their groundnuts are infected with insects as the nuts in the Secco have already been exposed to the sun, which is destroying the bags. They complained that their groundnuts are wasting in the Secco due to lack of funds to purchase them. The farmers in Njol concluded by saying that for them “it is hard to labour and suffer under the sun and rain only to watch it wasting.” As part of his assignment to monitor the 2009/2010 trade season, this reporter had visited Baati Njol Secco in Niamina East in the Central River Region South of the Gambia to ascertain how they are faring with the trade season. |
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