As part of her undivided resolve to complement The Gambia Government's efforts in national development, especially in its food self-sufficiency drive, the embassy of the Republic of China (Taiwan), yesterday, completed the disbursement of 1260 metric tons of fertilizer, at a ceremony held at the premises of The Gambia Groundnut Cooperation in Banjul.

The first disbursement of 600 metric tons of fertiliser was done some time last week, with yesterday's disbursement, the second consignment of 660 metric tons, marking the completion of the disbursement exercise. This consignment of fertiliser is meant for this year's farming season.
Speaking at the ceremony, Bakary Trawally, permanent secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture, described the development as part of President Jammeh's aspiration for The Gambia to become a food self-sufficient nation. He recalled that late last year, the Gambian leader had written to the government of Taiwan, requesting for assistance for the cultivation of some 25000 hectares of rice fields as part of a four-year development plan.

PS Trawalley revealed that on approval by the Taiwanese government, a task force was set up to work towards meeting the objectives. "The target of the Government of The Gambia," he noted, "is to cultivate 2000 hectares of upland rice and 1200 hectares of irrigated rice". He added that the project is in line with the country's Vision 2020, targeting the production of 32000 hectares of rice in a four year period. This, he cited, will permit The Gambia to produce 21,000 metric tons of rice, out of which 15,000 metric tons will be for consumption.

Trawalley went on to disclose that The Gambia Government had ordered for 9,500 tons of compound fertilizer from Indonesia, which, he said, was set to arrive in Banjul on June 15th this year, bringing the total stock of fertilizers in store for this year's season to 11,325 metric tons.
"We also have 526 metric tons of rice seeds, 45 tractors, 56 power tillers, 19 milling machines, 780 litres of chemical to be used for the suppression of locust invasion, 15 vehicle mounted sprayers, 5,400 hand handle sprayers, and 6 built stores, all in preparation for this year's farming season."

The Agriculture Ministry PS also noted that within the period of 2009-2012, a minimum area of 1600 hectares will be developed and rehabilitated for rice cultivation, and that participating farmers will receive various support, from the MOA-TTM task force, including continued extension service as well as improved rice seed and fertilizer for the first planning season of the year.

And within the four year period, he added, a total area of 32,000 hectares of upland area suitable for rice production will have been converted out of the users' free will from non-rice crops to rice. For the year 2009, a total area of 7,000 hectares of upland has been upraised and registered for converting its cropping from non-rice to rice and it covers 79 villagers in the five regions of The Gambia, he concluded.

For his part, the deputy ambassador of Taiwan in Banjul, Hammer Chui, said the move is in collaboration with The Gambia Government's rice expansion initiative. The project, he said, aims at expediting the process of enhancing rice sufficiency by increasing both unit yield and cultivation area, thereby increasing rural income, saving foreign exchange as well as consolidating food security.