By Nelson Manneh
With the annual Tobaski festival just a day away, the price of rams—central to the Islamic feast—has surged dramatically in markets across the country, leaving many Gambians scrambling to secure the sacrificial animals amid deepening economic strain. At the heart of the spike, vendors say, is a steep rise in the value of the CFA franc against the Gambian Dalasi.
On Tuesday, a visit to several ram selling points across the Kanifing Municipality revealed striking prices, with some rams selling for over 35,000 dalasis—roughly equivalent to the annual salary of a Grade 5 civil servant. For many, this year’s celebration threatens to come at a cost too steep to bear.
“This is the best price for a good ram that is fit for purpose,” said Karamo Fay, a longtime ram vendor. “If you buy a ram for 10,000 to 15,000 dalasis, know that it is for a nuclear family—not an extended one.”
Tobaski, known globally as Eid al-Adha, is the most important feast in the Islamic calendar. It commemorates the willingness of Prophet Ibrahim to sacrifice his son as an act of obedience to God. In The Gambia, the tradition of slaughtering rams is both a religious obligation and a cultural hallmark. Yet, for many families, fulfilling this obligation has become increasingly difficult.
Each year, thousands of rams are imported from neighboring Senegal—where the CFA is the legal tender—to meet the demand in Gambia. But this cross-border trade has been complicated by the depreciating Dalasi, which has weakened purchasing power and sent prices soaring at the local level.
“The prices have increased, but it’s not about tax. It’s because the CFA keeps gaining on the Dalasi,” said Lamin Fatty, a gardener in Fajara, who has spent days searching for an affordable ram. “Ten thousand dalasis cannot secure an average ram anymore. I went to seven different spots. The cheapest I found was 18,000 dalasis, and the seller refused to negotiate even a single butut.”
For some Gambians, the price hikes have forced a shift in tradition. Malang Camara, a businessman, said he stopped buying rams during the Tobaski rush more than a decade ago. “What I do is buy a small ram right after Tobaski, when the prices drop, and raise it at home. Last year I bought three for 15,000 dalasis. One has given birth, and I will slaughter the other two this year,” he said.
Camara believes the government should encourage local animal husbandry. “Gambians should develop a culture of rearing rams themselves. It’s more sustainable than spending twenty thousand dalasis on a single animal.”
At the Sukuta Turntable, a major hub for ram vendors, some sellers—many of them non-Gambians—offered rams priced at up to 40,000 dalasis. For context, this amount is equivalent to the gross annual salary of many mid-level civil servants.
“We don’t blame the vendors,” said Sally Kujabi, a frustrated shopper. “We blame our government. All the vendors are saying the same thing: that the CFA is rising every day, and the Dalasi is falling. But what is the government doing about it?”
Kujabi recalled a project under the Ministry of Agriculture aimed at promoting the local rearing of small ruminants, but said its impact has barely been felt. “The number of imported rams outweighs those bred locally. That’s the problem.”
In places like Abuko, rams could be seen tethered in rows under makeshift shelters—but many remained untouched by buyers deterred by the high costs. Some local vendors expressed resentment toward what they saw as unequal treatment by the authorities.
“Many of us were removed from our stalls along the Brikama highway in the name of road clearance,” said Musa Koma, a local seller. “Now, the government allows non-Gambians to sell in those very same spots. It’s not fair.”
Koma accused the government of failing to prioritize its citizens, a sentiment that resonates with others grappling with the realities of inflation and economic uncertainty. “They care more about outsiders than the people who vote for them,” he said bitterly.
