Abdoulie G.Dibba Stakeholders from the West African Agricultural Productivity Project (WAAPP), the Central Project Coordinating Unit and other relevant partners, on Thursday, 20 August 2015 validated The Gambia Emergency Agricultural Production Support Project’s Closing Report at the Kairaba Hotel.In his introductory remarks, Ebrima Jawara, the Coordinator of the Central Project Coordinating Unit (CPCU), said the GEAPS Project was implemented under the West Agricultural Productivity Programme (WAAPP). He noted that the project was initiated as a result of the 2011 drought which resulted in crop failures, adding that the purpose of the forum was to look at that document, validate it with necessary adjustment, fill the gaps that are missing and carve the way forward for a better working document for The Gambia. Delivering a statement at the validation, Falalo Touray, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture, informed the participants that the document the stakeholders are to validate was the Project Closure Report of the GEAPS Project. PS Touray said this support project is a Japanese grant managed by World Bank and implemented by WAAPP, which is a regional project. The Agric PS called on the stakeholders to participate effectively during the validation, adding that this project closure report is an opportunity for them to pin-point challenges to avoid making the same mistakes that were made in the past. In his presentation of the project closing report, Modou Sarr, an International Monitoring, Evaluation and Project Database Consultant, told the stakeholders that the GEAPS Project was funded by the World Bank, through the Japanese Social Development Fund (JSDF) at the tune of US$2,850,000, with a life span of 18-months. The Consultant indicated that the main development objective of the project was to restore the production capacities of 19 rural districts with a population of 20,000 farmer households and that the project has five components, including the rehabilitation of dry wells in vegetable gardens. Mr. Sarr said the project became effective in May 2013 with the ministry of agriculture as the executing agency and the implementation of the project was a stand alone project management unit which was assigned to WAAPP. He added that the implementation of the project started in November 2013 after some protracted delays. The Consultant said during the course of implementation the project experienced two management changes. He noted that as a result of the changes and the late starting, an additional six months extension from December 2104 to June 2015 was endorsed by the World Bank and that the additional six months was assigned to the central project coordinating unit, which successfully implemented the remaining activities. Mr. Sarr, said the project’s planned output was 500 tons of Cereal Seeds, 1700tons of Fertilizers, 470 tons of Livestock feeds, 20,000 blocks of Mineral Licks, 150,000 doses OF Vaccines, 80,000 Dewormers, Rehabilitation of 500 garden wells, Procurement of 500seeds for the gardens. He said the project targeted an area of 16,000 hectares of certified seed to be covered, however, he said, only 7,750 was achieved from that target. With regard to the doses of dewormers procured and utilized, the project targeted 80,000 however, 340,000 was achieved. Regarding doses of vaccine procured and utilized, he said, the project targeted 150,000 but 80,000 was achieved.]]>
