The Food Security through Commercialisation of Agriculture (FSCA) recently held a day's meeting in Janjangbureh with farmers in the Central River Region north.

The purpose of the meeting was to confirm the 20 selected villages in CRR for the three-year pilot project, being funded by Italian special contribution to the Global Trust Fund for Food Security and Food Safety, under the Ministry of Agriculture.

In his opening remarks, the governor of the region, Alhaji Ganyie Touray, underscored the importance of the project, saying it among other things aims at increasing agricultural productivity, market output and the incomes of the beneficiaries.

He called on the beneficiaries to work hard during the three years and hinted that if the project implementation succeeds in the pilot villages, it might expand to other villages. The regional project field coordinator, Buba Joof, reiterated  that the objective of the meeting is to confirm the selected villages by the communities and explained that in each district, four villages were selected, which are active farming communities with good track record of project implementation.

The project, Joof went on, will assist smallholder farmers and small-scale food processors to overcome production constraints and to add value through improved production, processing and marketing techniques. He said the project is expected to contribute to the overall goal of reducing poverty and to increase household food security on sustainable basis which he noted is consistent with the overall goal of government policies and the Millennium Development Goal.

Ali Jay Touray, the chief of Lower Saloum, applauded the Government of The Gambia, which in partnership with the Italian Government established such an important project. He hoped that the project will improve livelihood and food security and finally assured them of their unflinching support.