By Fatou B. Cham
The Small Ruminant Production Enhancement Project (SRPEP) on Friday, 24th June 2022 handed over communication and surveillance equipment to the Department of Livestock Services and the Gambia Livestock Marketing Agency.
The items donated included 3 Toyota pickups, 30 motorbikes, 100 tablets, 15 laptops, and 6 desktop computers worth over 15 million dalasi.
SRPEP, the Department of Livestock Services (DLS), and The Gambia Livestock Marketing Agency are key implementing partners in enhancing small ruminant development through herd health support mechanisms; increasing productivity through genetics improvement and increasing access to feed and pastures; supporting production and marketing management, enhancing innovations in product/processing techniques.
Speaking at the handing over ceremony, Abdoulie Touray, Central Project Coordinating Unit, said the objective of SRPEP is to contribute to the improvement of the livelihood of pastoral communities in The Gambia by strengthening the productivity and resilience of rural communities and stimulating business entrepreneurship in the livestock sector.
As the project strives to reduce small ruminant diseases; especially PPR, Mr. Touray revealed that it also opened an Islamic microfinance window to ease access to finance for small ruminant value chain actors through the three-million-dollar facility.
“The two contracted microfinance institutions (Supersonics and Gambia Teachers’Credit Union) had already disbursed D62,000,000M out of which D40,806,800.00 has gone out to finance the fattening and breeding of small ruminant animals representing 68% of the amount disbursed,” he said. This he noted, would increase the number of animals that will be available in the country and reduce the dependence on outside traders during the feast of Eid al-Adha.
Mamud Njie, Project Director, SRPEP described the material support as an important milestone in their quest to reduce disease prevalence and mortality.
He disclosed that the project is implemented in 39 districts across all the regions of the country. “However, due consideration is given to the fact that small ruminant production-related activities may be present in some of the regions, to avoid unnecessary duplication of efforts’’.
Momodou Darboe, Director General of the Gambia Livestock Management Agency (GLMA) revealed that in 2020 and 2021, the SRPEP provided assistance in the rehabilitation of the livestock show ground in Abuko for the annual Tobaski ram sales. He said that of the 2022 is in progress and that they have engaged the agency in the identification of sites for the construction of proposed marketing facilities i.e. 10 slaughter facilities, 10 meat stalls, and 10 livestock markets, countrywide.
SRPEP supported GLMA in capacity building programmes for the group of actors and assisted in the sensitisation of value chain actors on the SRPEP objectives, mode of operation, scope, and areas of intervention.
Dr. Abdou Ceesay, Director, Department of Livestock Services, stressed that transportation has been a significant challenge for the Department, despite the fact that the livestock sector of The Gambia may be considered “the flesh of agriculture”.
