By Fatou B. Cham
The Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Security (MoALFS), Hon. Dr. Demba Sabally, on Wednesday, October 30th inaugurated new board members of the National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI). The NARI board of directors provides policy guidance and strategic direction for all NARI activities. It is expected to ensure that the objectives of the institute are achieved in line with the food and nutrition objectives of The Gambia. Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, held at the Agric ministry, in Banjul, Minister Sabally emphasised the importance of NARI as a national research entity. He noted that they are not restricted to the Brikama campus; rather they are responsible for every agricultural research, including agricultural research of the University of the Gambia, The Gambia College and other institutes that deal with agricultural research nationwide.
Speaking about the legal framework around the research institute and the board, the Minister explained that the institution itself does not have an act of its own; “so its legal framework is very sketchy, and I would ask the board to do a consultancy to have an Act, that will be referred to as the NARI Act,” he said. Mod Secka, Permanent Secretary, MoALFS, underscored the importance of NARI in the agricultural sector, and emphasised their desire for it to go back to its glory days or even better. “As a chairman you have a major role in making sure that the board is directing the policy. We are aware that the fundamental challenge is funding, but the argument is if you have a good research proposal you can attract funds from donors,” the PS told the board chair.
The chairman of the NARI Board stressed that research constitutes an important pillar of agricultural development. He however pointed out that NARI is facing the challenges of low production and productivity. “It is through agricultural research that technologies and new varieties of seed fertilizers are developed and provided for farmers to improve production and productivity,” he asserted. He went on: “NARI through the board has been given the mandate to research a whole variety of crops, livestock, fisheries, and water resources based on the National Agricultural Research Act of 1993,” he said.
