By Kebba AF Touray
During their closing debate on Monday, 23 December 2024, members of the National Assembly took turns to lament the poor groundnut harvest this season. They also called on the government to support the farmers during these trying times.
Members of the National Assembly discussed what they described as “low and poor production” of groundnut.
Honourable Salifu Jawo, the member for Jokadu, lamented the poor yield of groundnut, saying it affected farmers across the country.
“Hon. Speaker, I can say that there is a total failure in groundnut this year in the country,” Hon. Jawo said.
He submitted that in previous years, a farmer could generate one and a half tons from a hectare of land, but this year, the farmers could not harvest 400 kilograms from a hectare.
“So, it is a total failure and I am appealing to the government of the day to look into poor production so that they can factor that and provide help to the farmers, because farmers depend heavily on groundnut, sell some part of it and reserve some for their seeds for the following year,” he said.
Hon. Sankung Dampha, the Member for Illiassa, also stated that the farming season is “a total failure.” He explained that the harvest for rice, coos and maize was good.
He also appealed to the government to consider helping farmers by providing them with seeds, stressing that next season, the issue of seeds will be a problem for the farmers.
“We need the government’s intervention,” Dampha said.
He stated that the Farafenni mini stadium lacks a lot of facilities, which include the lack of water facilities.
“We are seeing other mini stadiums in the country, but compared to our mini stadium in Farafenni. there is a vast difference. So, we want our stadium to be of the same standard as others. We want the Youth Minister to intervene and provide water to the facility”, he urged.
Hon. Omar Jobe, the member for Naini also reiterated the production of groundnut this season is a total failure. He attributed the problem to climate change, soil degradation, and unsustainable farming practices. He said this has economic consequences and is a barrier to the attainment of the food security dreams of the country.
“We are calling on the government to see how they can devise ways to respond to this crop failure in groundnut production,” Honourable Jobe said.
On education, he stated that the late payment of the school SIGs has affected the operation of the schools. He implored the government to consider increasing the SIGs, to ensure that the payment of the SIGs is commensurate with the prices of goods in the market. He added that most of the schools do not have access to hospitals.
“Among the conditions is the status of the classrooms, as some of them have ventilation problems, staff accommodation and staff welfare which must be looked into to improve the status quo in those schools,” he said.
Hon. Sheriff Sarr, member for Jeshwang urged the government to fix the major roads within his constituency such as the Sankung Sillah and “Senfurr” roads.
“There is a block in Kanifing called the sea block that has been there for years, and the current status of the road is terrible, as it is not motor-able and the dust that emanates from the site compels the neighborhood to close their windows,” he said.
Hon. Alimmeh Gibba, the member for Foni Kansala discussed the allowances for the security personnel. He explained that the allowances remain stagnant.
“Are we envisaging the same because the rent allowance for Corporal in the Police is about D600 and a Sergeant is about D800 in that regard? So when we talk about increment of service we have to be very clear because these are men and women who will wear boots and will be in combat shoes for two or three days, and they are trying to protect us”.
He added: “So, if their earning is seen as a lesser privilege we need to correct it, and if it only touches the civil service leaving the army, police, I think we need to revisit it”.
