The Gambia Women's Bereau recently donated varieties of horticultural garden seeds and some tools to the Bakau women vegetable growers, at a presentation ceremony held at the horticultural garden in Bakau.

The donated items which are meant for distributions to various horticultural growers included cabbage, onion, tomatoe and garden egg seeds. Two wheel barrows and some watering cans were also donated.

Presenting the items on behalf of the Director of Women's Bereau, Bintou Bojang, national women councillor at the bereau, said that the items donated were made possible following a visit by Women's Bereau to the ECOWAS Gender Development Centre in Dakar, where a request was made for assisstance to the  Gambian women in horticultural gardening.

This request, she said, was unanimously approved by the Gender Centre in the quest to empower ECOWAS women economically. She advised the vegetable growers to utilise the donated items, noting that it will go a long way in upgrading the out come of their gardening. She then underscored the importance President Jammeh attached to women's empowerment.

For her part, Aja Fatou Fullanding-Nyang Ballow Ceesay, nominated women's councillor for KMC, who stood in for the Mayor of the municipality, said that the gains registered by the garden since its inception in 1976, is unprecedented. She advised the women to always see the Bakau horticultural garden as another major source of income to them.

The women's councillor stressed the need for the vegetable growers to build a formidable committee that will better address their constraints, most notably, marketing of their products.

She however appealed to the concerned authorities and other donor agencies to aid the poor vegetable growers with standard water irrigation system, stressing that since the inception of the horticultural garden in 1976, the poor vegetable growers depends heavily on wells.

She noted that such facilities will remarkably improve the out put of the garden.

Speaking earlier, Musa Dampha, director of agricultural extention, hailed the efforts of Bakau women for their firm role in the country's economic activities.

She advised the women to utilise the seeds noting that though it is in small quantity, when properly utilised, it will be substantially enough for furure gardening activities.

Alkalo Luntang Jaiteh of Bakau echoed similar sentiments.

Fatou Sey, Women's Bereau program officer for KMC, chaired the occassion.

It could be recalled that the ECOWAS Gender Development Centre, earlier in last December, donated horticultural gardening implements valued over sixty thousand dalasis, to the Gambia Women's Bereau through the National Women's Council.