This column is devoted to cover the issues that concern and affect the farmers with a view to monitor and report such issues especially relating to food security in the Gambia. The column also reports the interventions of Government, Intergovernmental and Non-governmental Organizations in the pursuit to improve agriculture in the country. Now that the NEMA has been launched both at the National and Regional Levels, we shall bring the attention of our readers to the National Agricultural Land and Water Management Development Project which has the potential to ensure food security and improve farmers' income in theGambia. Project Description

1. Target Population. The Project is being designed for women who are the core rice and vegetable producers in the country. Equally, rural poor young men and women (under 30 years) will be targeted for market-oriented vegetable production and agricultural businesses. A secondary target group will be value-adders, service providers and operators in the rice and vegetable markets, including producers' organisations and small and medium enterprises. The geographic coverage of the Project is defined as all the six Regional Agricultural Directorates along the River Gambia, essentially the whole rural sector.

2. Goal. The goal of the Project is to reduce poverty of rural women and youth.

3. Objective. The objective of the Project is to increase incomes from improved productivity based on sustainable land and water management practices.

4. Components. The Project shall consist of the following three Components: (i) Watershed development, (ii) agricultural commercialization and (iii) project facilitation.

4.1 Component 1: Watershed development

4.1.1 Subcomponent

1.1 Communal watershed planning. The activities under this sub-component shall include:

(a) Formation and training of watershed water user groups (WUGs). Department of Agriculture (DoA) extension services shall be used for the formation and support of WUGs for water control and tidal irrigation schemes and a minimum quota will be applied to ensure adequate participation of women and youth within management committees.

(b) Interactive negotiation of watershed development and management plans.

Through the capacitated WUGs, the participating communities shall decide on their priorities for local project investments in agricultural land and water resources within a defined watershed. Communities/WUGs shall request project assistance by filling a requisition form which shall be made available at each of the Regional Agricultural Directorates.

Nema shall sensitise the farmers and community members to set-up an operation and maintenance (O&M) fund and Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) shall be signed between local government/Regional Agricultural Directorates, communities, WUGs and village development committees to ensure that participating farmers take full responsibilities for the O&M of any built infrastructure.

Once agreement is reached, participating communities shall be expected to remain committed to the achievement and subsequent maintenance of the whole watershed land and water improvement scheme and to contribute to infrastructure development.

In return, farmers shall be given priority in earning opportunities arising during construction.

Subcomponent 1.2 Water management for rice cultivation.

(a) Construction of contour bunds, dykes, bridges and spillways to control surface water in the rainy season (uplands and lowlands).

The target scope of the upland activity is to bring 4,000 ha of cropping area under control, whereas in the lowlands, the dikes, bridges and spillways to be constructed will bring a total of 12,400 ha under a water control system and check saline water incursion along the estuary and lower reaches of the River Gambia and main tributaries.

(b) Construction of the upland water control structures, as for all the public economic infrastructure installed by the Project, shall be by private contractors hired on a one-contractor-one-watershed basis.

(c) The lowland soil and water improvement package includes tractor ploughing services to assist water penetration and the application of lime on acid soils for about 3,100 ha (a quarter of the total area to be improved), most of which will be supplied by youth enterprises established with the support of the Project.

(d) Construction of dykes, canals, gates, field and access roads as a system to control tidal flood waters (tidal irrigation). (e) It is anticipated that the Project shall consolidate and extend the works installed at several existing sites of the Participatory Integrated Watershed Management Project (PIWAMP), particularly in the Central River Region, before moving on to other watersheds with relatively good productive potential.

For tidal irrigation, an investment threshold of USD 6,250/ha shall be used to pre-screen potential sites and any site above this threshold cost shall be ineligible for Nema support. The adequacy of the threshold may be reviewed at any time but no later than mid-term.

An initial 500 ha is targeted for converting existing pumped-irrigation schems into fully tidal schemes with the potential to increase the area if proved to be cost-effective.

The Project is expected to bring a total of 2,000 ha (about 1,500 ha new schemes) into intensive irrigated rice production by project completion in 2019.

(f) The works shall be undertaken by contractors who shall be committed to using labour-intensive construction methods to give local people first refusal on the opportunities for daily-paid unskilled and semi-skilled work (cash forwork).

These contractors shal work in close consultation with the Department of Water Resources (DWR) and the National Environment Agency (NEA), from design through implementation and monitoring afterwards.

As a "public good", it is essential that the infrastructure is, and is seen to be, owned and operated by the beneficiary farming communities. 4.1.3 Subcomponent 1.3 Village vegetable schemes.

(a) The Project shall bring thirty such village vegetable schemes up to fully functional condition with the potential for multiple cropping around the year, thereby permitting proper planning and greatly-increased returns. The schemes for upgrading shall be selected from the six Regional Agricultural Directorates, at the request of existing or newly-mobilized women's groups.

(b) As locally appropriate on a case-by-case basis, the investments shall include: upgrading or construction of perennial irrigation systems with groundwater abstraction, conveyance, storage and distribution; construction of animalproof security fences with gates around garden perimeters; construction/repair of simple buildings providing shelter, storage facilities, toilets and other farm tools.

(c) The lifting of groundwater shall be achieved by a solar powered pump with 100 m3/day capacity from a 6 inch borehole, with the consequences of low operating costs, saved productive surface area and improved safety. The DWR shall supervise the installation and monitor the water quality of project wells/boreholes on a regular basis.

(d) In addition to the upgrading works, the Project shall construct eighteen similar schemes expressly as youth market gardening enterprises in locations with favourable conditions and strong local demand.

(e) The Project shall start with a 15 ha pilot vegetable scheme for both youth and women kafo and this will be evaluated at mid-term before scaling up.

Nema shall ensure that contract farming agreements are signed for youth and women kafo gardens respectively during the pilot phase. 4.1.4 Subcomponent 1.4 Access roads and market infrastructure.

(a) The nominal target for project planning purposes is 2,500 ha of farmland to benefit from access road/truck upgrading works. The goal is greatly improved access to the rice fields and vegetable gardens. The Project shall focus on spot improvements to make a greater length of farm-to-market access roads passable in all seasons by improving the conditions of crossing points with hydraulic structures and some gravel surfacing.

(b) The communal watershed planning process shall identify roads and tracks for improvement.

(c) Ten local markets shall be constructed to complement productivity gains under the Project.

(d) Appropriate structures for trading local produce shall be installed at convenient locations, with storage facilities, water supplies and sanitation.

4.2 Component 2: Agricultural commercialization 4.2.1 Subcomponent 2.1 Producer organisations.

(a) The Project shall work with producer organizations to capitalize on the major public infrastructure investments in agricultural water control, irrigation of vegetable gardens, access and market structures by promoting both on-farm productivity and enterprise profitability.

(b) The Project shall strengthen the technical and management capacity of producer groups in economic activities in which they have a comparative advantage, and provide management, technical and entrepreneurship training to women kafos and youth groups, including basic marketing, processing and negotiating skills and business counselling.

(c) Nema shall support the training of one farmer organisation representative at Master Degree level for Agribussiness. (d) Commodity inter-professional bodies for rice and vegetables shall be established or strengthened to influence policy and take advantage of market opportunities.

(e) Nema shall support the sensitisation of youth on employment opportunities in the agriculture sector, the sharing of experience among youth and the organisation of exchange visits using a youth peer-to-peer approach. Around thirty-six individual young people shall be trained at the Songhai Centre in Benin for extended courses in agricultural business enterprises.

(f) Increased production of rice by Producers' organisations (POs). Crop packs for rice, including quality seed with appropriate fertilizer and pesticides, shall be provided to farmers once following infrastructure installations to demonstrate the efficient use of the improved croplands and to encourage greater investment of resources in production given the significant reduction in risk of crop failure for lack of sufficient water at the right times.

(g) High-quality seed available locally.

The rice seed development activity shall be fully financed by the European Union with clear integration into Nema in order to maximise complementaries and synergies, thereby guaranteeing the availability and affordability of certified rice seeds to farmers in the country as a direct response to the perennial seed crisis.

(h) Increased production of vegetables by POs. Nema efforts to link women vegetable kafos with potential off-takers shall go hand-in-hand with capacity building to enable them to negotiate win-win deals, activity monitoring to avoid the breakdown of contracts and the provision of platforms for dialogue.