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Gambia: The Looming Food Crisis - No Need to Panic
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The Daily Observer (Banjul)
OPINION
5 May 2008
Posted to the web 5 May 2008
Alphu Jain Marong
Rice is the major staple food in The Gambia. An estimated 66% of household income is spent on food. Out of which about 30.9% is spent on cereal and cereal products, of which the major part 83.2% is rice (National Household Poverty Survey -NHPS 1998)
Cereal production under the upland production systems on alluvial soils, is predominantly subsistence rain-fed agriculture. As a result, the decline in annual rainfall, and the erratic nature of the rains due to the climate change phenomenon, combined with declining soil fertility, have led to a severe decline in upland cereal production. This has resulted in sever food shortages, leading to increasing importation of cereals, which is exclusively rice! Furthermore, this serious decline in coarse grain production, has been exacerbated by a steady decline in rice production and productivity since 1980.
This situation has led to an explosive increase in the demand for imported rice, which has been further fuelled in part by a high population growth rate, and a high influx of refugees and immigrants from the sub-region. Furthermore, The Gambia has the highest per capita rice consumption (117.33kg) among Sahelian countries, and the third highest in West Africa (WARD 1993).
This explosive increase in the demand for imported rice, is happening at a time of increasing rural poverty and hardship, as a result of severe decline in the production of the main cash and export crop, groundnuts, as well as increasing urban poverty. Thus resulting in both low rural and urban purchasing power.
At present it is estimated that the country's requirement stands at an estimated 157,000 tonnes, while the total domestic production is estimated to represent only about 12%. This therefore, makes The Gambia a net importer of rice.
Therefore, there is no doubt that The Gambia is highly vulnerable to the continuous soaring price of rice. However, there is no need to panic!
There is in The Gambia, considerable potential for increased rice production and productivity, given the fact that the country is very fortunate indeed to be well endowed with some very important natural resources:-
* The River Gambia, the must important source of water availability for crop production, with abundant surface water for year round irrigation within its fresh water zone.
* largely unexploited vast fertile lowland swamps along the river.
* a semi-arid tropical climate, with high solar radiation (the primary determinant of crop productivity); and
•a growing season of normally 365 days.
All providing favourable conditions for rice production and many other crops.
Therefore the development of irrigation would provide a basis to develop a productive, sustainable and diversified agriculture, to achieve the desired rice self-sufficiency, as well as the development of a rice-based export-oriented agriculture, to increase the foreign exchange earning capacity of the country.
To put the rice situation in The Gambia in its proper perspective, we need to appreciate the fact that available data indicate that sufficient land is available to expand production to the level required to attain self-sufficiency.
However, because of the predominantly subsistence rain-fed production system, increased rice production and productivity has been severely constrained by the vagaries of the climate, characterized by one or more of the following climate change phenomena:
* consistent late onset of the rains
* a decline in rainfall in the middle of the season
* an early end to the season, or end-of-season drought
* increased variability in annual rainfall
* increased frequency of drought, dry spells, and
* increased frequency of intensive rainfall and runoff, resulting in severe floods,
Thus rice cultivation is primarily limited by the availability of water and labour, rather than land availability.
Past Irrigation Development Efforts
As a consequence of the above, the then government shortly after independence initiated the development of irrigation to counter the effects of these adverse climatic conditions. The development of irrigation is absolutely crucial, in view of the fact that available information on climate change, clearly indicates the likely recurrence of droughts and floods in the foreseeable future.
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Therefore the adoption by the government at the time, of an explicit rice self-sufficiency stance through irrigated rice production was absolutely crucial.
It is am indeed pathetic situation people, isn't it? I know we are a third world countyr, but with all fairness we aren`t doing justice to ourselves as far as food self-sufficiency is concerned. Taking a close look at the Budget one would realize that we do spend a lot on food importation alone, which clearly outlines our high dependancy on other countries for more than 50% of food we need and consume on a daily basis.
This dependency attitude has made us so vulnelable because the slightest crisis in global economies of leading nations is nine times out of... [Read Full Text]
It is an indeed pathetic situation people, isn't it? I know we are a third world country, but with all fairness we aren`t doing justice to ourselves as far as food self-sufficiency is concerned. Taking a close look at the Budget one would realize that we do spend a lot on food importation alone, which clearly outlines our high dependancy on other countries for more than 50% of food we need and consume on a daily basis.
This dependency attitude has made us so vulnelable because the slightest crisis in global economies of leading nations is nine times out of... [Read Full Text]
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