The Ministry of Agriculture has announced in a press release that it has secured one hundred and forty thousand (140,000) bags of fertilizer for three thousand five hundred Dalasis (D3500) per bag. However, the Ministry said it has proposed to sell the bags of fertilizer to farmers at a subsidized price of 2500 per bag. It acknowledges the fact that even with the reduced of D2500 the cost of fertilizer is still high and above the previous year’s price; hence the need to make more efforts to make it more affordable for farmers.
The rest of the release: “Despite the efforts of The Gambia government in making the fertilizer affordable, like many other importing countries, it is susceptible to any exogenous shocks such as price increases and disruption in world trade as is being experienced currently. In general, any increase in the external cost of commodities translates directly to higher importation cost and as a result higher price of commodities. This extends to the price of fertilizer as well.
Albeit the many challenges, the Ministry is working tirelessly to address the concerns raised by farmers on the high cost of fertilizer. All efforts are currently geared towards further reduction of the proposed price to a much lower amount, as well as towards increasing the number of bags on the ones that have been already bought.
The public is thereby reminded that the agriculture sector is the most important sector of the Gambian economy, contributing 20% of the gross domestic product, and providing employment and income for 70% of mainly the rural population. Therefore, the Ministry will not relent in consolidating the gains that have been registered in the sector.
Furthermore, the Ministry is still committed to developing and sustainably modernising the sector. The farmer is the most important player in the agricultural value chain and their well-being remain the core mission of the Ministry of Agriculture”.
