The Economic Community of West African States' Gender Development Centre, recently donated horticultural garden materials worth over sixty thousand dalasis to the National Women's Council at a presentation ceremony held at the Paradise Suites Hotel, Kololi.

The donated items which are meant for distribution to various horticultural gardens across the country, include tomatoes, onions, cabbages, garden egg seeds, NPK and urea fertilizers are among other things.

Presenting the items, Aminata Dibba, acting director of the ECOWAS Gender Development Centre, said the gesture is part of her centre's objectives of empowering ECOWAS women economically. She revealed that the gesture came after a visit to the Centre by the National Women's Council of The Gambia, during which a request for assistance was made. She then disclosed that horticultural gardens in the Greater Banjul Area, North Bank and Lower River Regions will benefit from the gesture.

Receiving the gesture on behalf of the beneficiaries, Aja Kassa Kanteh, chairperson of the National Women's Council commended the centre for boosting the Gambia's horticultural sector. She then assured the donors that the gesture will go a long way in empowering Gambian women in horticulture.

The ceremony was attended by Mrs Ida Faye-Hydara, executive director of the Women's Bureau, and other women activists from the ECOWAS region.