GAMBIA, OTHERS GET US$18M AGRIC BOOST

The Gambia is among 20 countries that are to benefit from US$18M grant from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to promote agricultural productivity.

According to reports from the United States Embassy in Banjul, the grant agreement was recently signed by the agency's mission director for West Africa , Dr Jatinder Cheema and the Executive Secretary of CILLS, Dr Musa Mbenga.

The grant, the report revealed, is meant to support regional agricultural and natural resources management programs and initiatives to strengthen early warning and response systems, disseminate best practices and technologies regionally and help cotton producers improve their yields and incomes. “The program will focus on three main areas: agricultural sector productivity and food security, agricultural policy development and sustainable management of natural resources.  Support is also provided for strengthening regional institutions leading to the implementation of the comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program including CILSS, the Economic Community  of West African States, and the West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development” the report stated.

The activities under this agreement, the report went on, will be implemented through CILSS and other regional organisations, US grants and contracts with non-governmental organisations, and public/private alliances.

Other countries benefiting from this grant include: Benin , Burkina Faso , Cameroon , Cape Verde , Chad , Cote d'Ivoire , Gabon , Ghana , Guinea , Guinea-Bissau , Liberia , Mali , Mauritania , Niger , Nigeria , Sao Tome and Principle , Senegal , Sierra Leone , and Togo .