The Gambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) will donate to farmers’ through the Drought Relief Fund part of the proceeds derived from its 2012 Annual Business Awards Dinner, the chief executive officer of the Chamber, Almamy Taal has disclosed.

The event slated for Friday, June 1st on the theme “Standing by the Gambian farmers,” according to Taal, who was speaking Monday during a press briefing at the Coco Ocean Resort & Spa in Bijilo, is in response to the recently declared national crop failure across the country.

His words: “In joining hands with the government and development partners to work towards salvaging the plight of the farmers and achieving sustainable solution, GCCI has decided to dedicate its most prestigious annual business awards dinner to this cause as part of the proceeds will be donated to the Drought Relief Fund, created under the aegis of the Office of the Vice President.”

Taal also disclosed that GCCI has adopted another initiative called ‘one company, one community’ whereby companies are encouraged to address communities’ most critical needs such as farming implements, milling machines and water pumps. He said it is important for the GCCI to take the lead in restoring public awareness on the significance of agriculture in our economy.

The objective of the Awards Dinner is to recognise excellence for remarkable performance of entrepreneurs and enterprises in the business sector and create room for competition amongst businesses, promote best business practices and ensure a level-playing field for all business, among other objectives.

This year’s GCCI Business Awards Dinner is of different categories -Enterprise of the Year, Bank of the Year; Insurance Company of the Year; Manufacturing and Telecommunication Companies of the Year; Eco Tourism Business of the Year; Restaurant and Start-up of the Year; Hotel of the Year and Partner to the Business Community.