The Co-founder of Eco Soil has called on farmers in the country to embrace the application of organic fertilizer to ensure a healthy and productive production.
Momarr Taal, who was speaking in an exclusive interview with this medium, revealed that Eco Soil is the first organic fertilizer manufacturer in the Gambia.
Established in 2022, the organisation after years of research alongside government institutions developed a large scale effective locally produce organic fertilizer in the country.
"This came about because of the need for farmers to have access to quality input healthy fertiliser for the food that we consume at an affordable price for farmers. Our aim is not to ban chemical fertilizer entirely in the country, but what we are saying is that we have a responsible application of fertilizer for the health of soil. If people are using chemical fertilizer they should also have access to organic fertilizer to replenish their soil."
This, he believes, will make sure they have a healthy blend of all sorts of soil nutrients available in the market.
He also spoke about their plans to make sure organic fertilizer is made affordable and available to farmers just lie the chemical fertilisers.
Taal equally observed that at the moment their production capacity is 10,000 tons per year, saying they are unable to supply the entire country currently, but that the idea of Eco Soil is not to replace chemical fertiliser,but rather to have a substitute and a revolving option for farmers.
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It would be recalled that on 1st of August Eco Soil issued a statement declaring that the government is currently distributing fully subsidised Ecosoil organic fertilizer to farmers around the country.
In the said release, Mr. M Secka, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture, was quoted as saying: "We are delighted to announce that we are giving out 6000 tonnes of organic Ecosoil fertiliser this farming season. This will impact thousands of farmers at absolutely no cost to them."
The transition from dependence on imported mineral fertilisers to organic fertilizer, it added, is a priority for The Government of The Gambia, in order to ensure 'our national food security and self- sufficiency objective are realized in a sustainable manner."
Taal also talked about their partnership with the government, which he said, is anchored on to have continuity in their engagement to make sure that there is a programme that creates this accessibility to farmers and it is part of the status quo.
"Ou vision in next 10 years is we want to look back and say when a farmer is starting a season, they have the option to buy cheaper and more powerful organic fertilizer and not to be held to the only option of chemical fertilisers which can be harmful." he said.
To this end, he called on all to support their enterprise as "when the government support businesses like this, the money they are using as subsidies is staying in the country."
Aside its numerous benefits to farmers, Tall also revealed that as a country it is important for people to look at the health of 'our soil' and one way of doing that is investing in organic fertilizer.
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