Again it is easy to dismiss this 2 million tonnes of rice production in the as crazy talk but the danger in that is that this "vision 2016" could be remembered at best another empty promise but at worst an ill-conceived social, economic and environmental engineering disaster. First, can we produce 2 million tonnes of rice in the Gambia? In 2012, the FAO estimated that paddy rice yield in the a Gambia (good rains) is 850kg per ha. With irrigation this does not go above 2000kg in the West African Sahel. Even with irrigation and double cropping we will need about 500,000 ha, this is the entire arable crop area of the Gambia. Does the statement, "the government, he said, will no longer entertain the smallholder type of agriculture as part of efforts to making the nation a major exporter of rice .." mean that this new corporation will appropriate land from smallholders to be consolidated into "corporate farms? What would that mean for our traditional land ownership system? Is this new corporation going to be another NAWEC, GAMTEL or SSHFC with the executive having all total control over their activities? While we commend and aspire to achieve the all-year-around rice production like in Kanilai, we must also ask the following: how much does the all-year around production in Kanilai cost, that is pumping, storing water, as there is no river in Kanilai. Has there been total accounting of the cost of producing a tonne of rice in Kanilai? That is, cost of the all inputs (labor, land, water, seeds, fertilizer, machinery) and compare that to importing rice? It's important that experts (agric, forestry, livestock, hydrology) help the President understand that there are really ecological consequences to his Vision 2016 and if rushed through without proper assessment, could end up becoming the plan that killed the Gambia River. Malanding Courtesy Daily Observer 'Gambia can produce over 2M tonnes of rice annually' <http://observer.gm/africa/news> Africa > <http://observer.gm/africa/gambia/news> Gambia http://observer.gm/_library/2014/4/tonne-s.jpg <http://observer.gm/africa/gambia/article/gambia-can-produce-over-2m-tonnes- of-rice-annually> < prev 1 of 4 <http://observer.gm/africa/gambia/article/gambia-can-produce-over-2m-tonnes- of-rice-annually> next > Wednesday, April 30, 2014 The Gambia has the potential to produce more than two million tonnes of rice annually, ten times more than what is required, if all the rice fields visited are developed, the president of the Republic has disclosed. Speaking Monday during visits to rice fields in the Lower River Region (LRR), as part of his ongoing "Vision 2016 rice self-sufficiency tour," His Excellency Sheikh Professor Alhaji Dr Yahya Jammeh said his government is exploring all avenues to make sure that the country stops food importation and engage in full export in the next 10 years. "I can see that even the Central River Region (CRR) alone the potentials are there and when you go to Fatoto coming down and even beyond, we can produce millions of tonnes of rice and other cereals in this country. After so many years of being a net importer of food items, we will become one of the biggest exporters of rice in five years time. We must achieve that," he stressed. Words to private sector As part of efforts towards meeting this objective, the Gambian leader disclosed plans by his government to create a company that will be responsible for most of these fields. The government, he said, will no longer entertain the smallholder type of agriculture as part of efforts to making the nation a major exporter of rice. "My objective is for agriculture to be all all-year-round affair. What I want is to have all-year-round rice production like I have in Kanilai. So it is going to be harvesting all year round," he assured. The government, he said, will transform vast lands that are not being utilised into productive sites for the development of the sector. Diversification The Gambian leader also stressed the need for agricultural diversification, stressing that the country's food source must not only be centered on rice, but other varieties in order to enhance nutrition. "Be it corn, cassava, beans and even fruit trees, I see no reason why The Gambia cannot be a major producer of coconut because in certain areas where the water is brackish, are the ideal place for coconut plantation. Of course why not become a major producer of palm oil? So we can turn some of these fields into great palm tree plantations like Malaysia," he noted. Budget allocations The Gambian leader spoke of his government's commitment to increase budgetary allocations to agriculture once construction of certain major roads are completed. "The constructions of major roads have almost been finished except for Laminkoto-Passimas and Basse-Vellingara. For that of Laminkoto-Passimas, we are just at the implementation stage and once all these are fixed, the bulk of the funds from the government [the budget] will be geared towards agricultural production," he disclosed. Visit to Jarra Sutukung and Jappineh Meanwhile, the Gambian leader earlier visited other vast lands in Jarra Sutukung and Jappineh, all in the LRR to see for himself the potentials of rice cultivation in these areas. Like in many of the other fields visited, President Jammeh assured these rural dwellers of better rice cultivation, but hastened to challenge them to make use of the vast endowed natural resources at their disposal. "This is the only way any country can stand on its own and end the decades-long dependency on foreign aid," he concluded. Author: Musa Ndow & Amadou Jallow on tour ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ 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] ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤