The president has been visiting many horticultural gardens in the West Coast Regions that are producing onions, potatoes and other vegetables partly destined for external markets and partly for local consumption.
The farms however are not family farms that should be supported if poverty is to be eradicated. Large scale farms owned by families should be given priority in The Gambia if poverty is to be rolled back. The trend of the government however is not towards providing interest free loans to family farms, but to encourage capital investment in farming to ensure large scale production.
Such farming will have high yields, but unlike the family farms they would not lead to the eradication of poverty in the rural areas. The government policy on farming for poverty eradication needs to be reviewed. A national debate on the subject matter is long overdue. Foroyaa will continue to keep the subject matter alive.
