By Kebba Secka
Farmers in Lower Saloum, Upper Saloum and some parts of Ngayen Sanjal in the North Bank Region on Friday, 13 December expressed worries over the lack of cash at Seccos. The farmers also decried poor harvest of groundnut.
In our past editions, we published articles about the situation of the trade season in Upper River Region (URR), Central River Region North and South. In this edition, we look at North Bank Region (NBR).
On 4 December 2024, the government issued a press release announcing the commencement of the 2024 groundnut trade season. The Government further declared that the season will end on 2 March 2025. The Government maintained the price of groundnut at D38 per kilogram.
Foroyaa continued with its traditional monitoring of the trade season. The reporter had interview with different farmers and visited the seccos in the two Saloum districts and some parts of North Bank Region to monitor and assess the 2024/25 trade season.
The reporter observed that there has been little preparation at the second Secco in Kaur for the commencement of the trade season. The land space of the secco (buying centre) is yet to be cleared as there is presence of dry grasses and other litters.
Eliman Bah, the president of that secco said the preparation is in high gear and the members of the committee managing the secco have met and discussed the trading modalities. He added that the committee has also held meetings with officials of National Food Security Processing and Marketing Corporation (NFSPMC), formerly called The Gambia Groundnut Corporation (GGC) to highlight the challenges and successes of the last trade season.
He was asked why the secco was not cleared as part of the preparation for the trade season, Eliman said the Government usually supports seccos with cash to be used to hire labourers to clear the land.
“We are waiting for that. Once we receive it, we will clear the secco as soon as possible. Some seccos have got their lands cleared but for us, it will not take us time to finish clearing the land,” Bah said.
Recollecting his secco’s performance in the past year, Eliman Bah said he bought over seven millions dalasi (D7,000,000) worth of groundnuts. He stated that he is optimistic of buying more despite numerous complaints by farmers about their poor harvest this season.
Eliman Bah and other farmers urged government to provide adequate cash at seccos.
Fatou Ceesay of Njau in Upper Saloum was found winnowing groundnut on her farm. She said the government should provide cash at the Seccos because they depend on agriculture for their survival. She explained that women in Njau are more engaged in gardening, but men provide feeding and other sustenance for the family. She said where men are challenged to provide for the family, the burden boils down to the women and that is why this year’s crop failure is worrying.
At Secco 1 in Kaur, no one was found on the ground. It was observed that the front face of the secco is cleared of grasses while the larger perimeter of the space is covered with different forms of grasses.
At Ballangharr in Lower Saloum District, it was observed that the people are preparing for the trade season as a fence has been fixed to cover the perimeter of the secco. The reporter did not find any individual or groundnut heap on the ground.
Mamut Touray of Ballangharr Benteng was found under a tree resting.
“For me, I have a good harvest and quality groundnuts. My nuts are heavy. I sowed them early. Those who sowed their seeds early have a good quality. The only problem for me is low quantity of harvest compared to what I used to harvest in the past years,” said Mamut.
At the Njayen Sanjal secco, no one was found on the ground and the secco machines were covered with grasses. The centre doesn’t show sign of commencement of the trade season like other seccos visited.
Ousman Mbye, a renowned farmer in the area, said they recorded low harvest of groundnuts. He said some farmers despite the low quantity had good quality while others have low harvest with poor quality.
“For me, I have a good quality of groundnuts. I am a big farmer. I have cultivated huge hectares of groundnuts and I used to harvest sixty to one hundred bags of groundnuts, but this year, I am not expecting to harvest more than fifteen donkeys. We are still winnowing the nuts,” he said.
Farmers renewed their call for the Government to disburse cash to the seccos.
Ousman Touray, Mamat Njie, Baka Secka and Gumbo Ceesay all from Njayen Sanjal and Kinteh Secka from Daffeh in Sanjal District all appealed for the Government to release cash at Seccos. According to them, the lack of cash is forcing small scale farmers to compromise their produce to shopkeepers at a low price.
