The executive claims that it is not a purchaser of groundnuts. However the executive exercises the prerogative to announce the price of groundnuts.
Foroyaa has been consistent since the first republic in sending reporters to follow the farmers as they grow their crops, harvest them and sell them. This paper has followed the era of the cooperative union until its collapse and the convening of the McCauley Commission to inquire into its bankruptcy.
Foroyaa has shown how farmers suffered from credit buying and extortion by unlicensed buying agents. Foroyaa has also followed the rise and fall of the Gambia Produce Marketing Board (GPMB) and its privatization into Gambia Oilseed Processing and Marketing Company (GOPMAC).
This paper could therefore be relied on to know the true state of the farming community.
The executive has announced that groundnuts will be purchased at D38,000 per tonne. It is yet to tell the people how many tonnes the farmers have produced, who is actually going to buy the groundnuts and how many tonnes will be bought.
The issue of recapitalizing the National Food Security Processing and Marketing Company (NFSPMC) has been a matter of concern. How much it needs to be a viable institution is yet to be established.
FPAC of the National Assembly has recommended for the NFSPMC to be recapitalized with a sum of D700 million. If the whole sum was spent on groundnut purchase it will be able to buy 18,400 tonnes of groundnuts. There are therefore many unanswered questions that Foroyaa will put before the ministry of agriculture and the NFSPMC before giving a true and fair assessment of groundnut production in this country. We will keep our readers updated on the macroeconomic state of the country.
