Bijilo, 3rd June, 2020: As part of its ongoing Mass Agricultural Production Project (also known as the Cassava Out-grower Scheme) within the wider framework of the Tekki Fii – Make It in The Gambia Project, GIZ International Services with its implementing partners, the Global Youth Innovation Network (GYIN) Gambia Chapter and Aspuna Gambia Ltd. kick-started a virtual online training programme for 120 selected cassava out-growers. The eight-days training, which will run from 3rd to 10th June, 2020, is meant to roll out the ‘Promotion of Market Linkages for Cassava Out-Growers’ within eight (8) villages in West Coast Region. The training will be conducted in four batches of 30 participants.
The “Mass Agricultural Production Project” is envisaged to link industrial users of cassava like Aspuna with 600 youth farmers in the three Regions of West Coast (WCR), Lower River (LRR) and Upper River (URR). The one-year project under the overall supervision of the GIZ Project Management Team and in conjunction with stakeholders like the Global Youth Innovation Network Gambia Chapter (GYIN Gambia Chapter), National Research Institute (NARI), and the Department of Horticulture Services will mobilize youths that are interested in the cassava farming and link them to Aspuna, who in turn will ensure market opportunities for the 600 targeted farmers by buying their products for processing.
Mamadou Edrisa Njie, Founder and Executive Director of GYIN Gambia said the main aim of the project is to promote and popularize cassava production amongst the youth and women farmers. He added that GYIN Gambia’s role in the project among other things is to ‘properly’ coordinate its successful implementation. As part of the project, GYIN Gambia would cluster young farmers and provide them with training on the value chain.
Country Director of Aspuna Gambia Ltd., Mr. Amadou Jah, explained that his company is an agro-processing enterprise that will purchase the produce (cassava) from the farmers in large quantity and process it into starch. Aspuna is also committed to providing organic fertilizer to the beneficiaries in its general goal to help Gambian farmers stabilize cassava price and increase their income in the cassava farming.
Mr. Suwaibou Cham, Senior Private-Public Sector Expert at GIZ, stated that the project would commercialize the cassava sector, and that with the commercialization, cassava farmers will increase their yield as the market is available for them, thus improving the food security situation in The Gambia.
For any enquiries, contact:
Mamadou Edrisa Njie
Executive Director
GYIN Gambia Chapter
Tel: +220 2502929/ 3928929
Sarjo Jarju
Monitoring and Evaluation Officer
GYIN Gambia Chapter
Tel: +220 7804805
Or email: gambia@gyin.org OR executivedirector@gyingambia.gm