The second leg of harvest exercises at vast rice fields put under cultivation for the attainment of the country’s Vision 2016 Agenda has attracted the presence of foreign journalists who want to see firsthand how a country’s leader is leading by example in the pursuit of his anti-hunger programme.

The journalists drawn from renowned media outlets such as: Tehran based Press TV (Iran); United Kingdom based New Africa Magazine; National TV De’ Guinea Bissau; Senegal based RDV; Journal Press De Bissau and eBiz, have been covering the farming activities of President Sheikh Prof Alh Dr Yahya Jammeh since he began the tour on Monday. 

The Vision 2016 Agenda, launched in 2013 during a presidential annual ‘Dialogue with the People’s Tour’ has since attracted a lot of support; the most recent from the representative of the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO; the Nigerian ambassador to The Gambia; and the president of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Dr. Kanayo F. Nwanze who visited the country a few months ago.

The agenda has also attracted foreign investors who have shown interest in large-scale agricultural production.

The overall idea of the vision is to end decades-long importation of food, especially rice into The Gambia and ultimately make the nation food self-sufficient. It is also anticipated that the successful implementation and attainment of the country’s food self-sufficiency agenda, would cut significantly the colossal sums of money The Gambia as a country spends on rice imports.