By Kebba AF Touray
The National Audit Office (NAO) has reported that a total of US$9.0 Million or approximately two hundred and sixty-one million Dalasi (D261 million), was paid to OCP to procure 15 thousand metric tons of fertilizer.
The Audit Office said this in its audit performance and follow up report on the provision of farm inputs (seed and fertilizer) to the farmers by the Ministry of Agriculture, in 2024.
However, it noted that farmers across the country did not receive fertilizer on time during the period under audit.
The audit office said it observed the absence of a fertilizer policy, delay in getting responses from key players and the failure of suppliers to deliver fertilizer as per the contract agreement.
In light of its findings, the Audit Office recommended the National Food Security, Processing and Marketing Corporation or formerly GGC to engage the relevant stakeholders in fertilizer procurement in the earliest possible time, to prevent potential delay.
“This will ensure that fertilizer is procured and made available to farmers on a timely manner,” the Audit Office said.
The audit office explained that the implementation status as claimed by the Ministry as at July, has completed the delivery of 5,000 metric tons of NPK; 5,000 metric tons of 10:20:10 and 5,000 metric tons of Urea from OCP Company, to all GGC depots nationwide.
“A total of 9.0 million US Dollar has been paid to OCP company in respect of the 15,000 metric tons of fertilizer,” the Audit Office said, and recommended that the Ministry of Agriculture in consultation with relevant stakeholders should formulate a fertilizer policy to guide the procurement and distribution of fertilizer to depots.
On the current status of the implementation as claimed by the Ministry of Agriculture, it said a fertilizer policy has been produced and validated with the support of the rice value chain transformation project (RVCTP) in consultation with stakeholders, but has not yet been approved by the Parliament.
The audit office recommended that the NFSPMC engage the relevant stakeholders involved in fertilizer procurement as soon as possible to prevent potential delays and give adequate time to deal with such delays as they begin to appear. This will ensure that fertilizer is procured and made available to farmers in a timely manner.
The audit office indicated that following project restructuring, the fertilizer program is progressing with a contract signed with the industrial company, and a calendar of delivery agreed.
“The MoU with Gambia Groundnut Corporation (GGC) is being finalized, and a dedicated account will be opened at Central Bank of The Gambia (CBG) and sub-accounts at Reliance Financial Services and Supersonics, to allow proximity to farmers for direct payment to get a voucher from the bank or micro-financial institutions, before getting fertilizer,” NAO indicated; adding that warehouses have been readied and a digital platform developed to register beneficiaries through transparency and efficiency.
