June is the final month for the preparation of a farming season. The government must not have agriculture wrong. This is the foundation of food security and the purchasing power of the farming community. It is therefore important for Foroyaa to tell the government that many farmers are concerned with the availability of fertilizer on time at reasonable cost. It is therefore significant for GRTS to do what Foroyaa has done by visiting the farming community to find out what their concerns are. We can state without any fear of exaggeration that the key to having a successful farming season depends largely on the availability of fertilizer in sufficient quantity at affordable cost.
Readers will recall that there was a programme to make Gambia self-sufficient in rice production by 2016. But vision 2016 failed. However no new vision has been put in its place. It is important for the government to articulate its short term, medium term and long term agricultural policies and prepare the country for food security without which there can be no eradication of poverty.
