Noo Kunda project lined up

Liuc Beltran I Beltran, an agricultural technician from Generalitat of Catalonia Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Action in Spain, has disclosed that the people of Noo Kunda in the Illiasa Constituency ,North Bank Region, will soon benefit from a borehole and storage facilities.

Liuc Beltran made this remarks, last Thursday, during a visit to Noo Kunda accompanied by Kassim Njie Dampha, the Gambian honourary counsel to Spain, Lamin Jammeh, National Assembly Member for Illiassa Constituency and experts from the Agricultural Department.

According to him, the area is suitable for vegetable and rice production. The storage facility he added, will help the people to store vegetables preventing them from perishing and later sell it at a better price. “But this can only be done if people are interested.But it seems they are interested as manifested in the welcome accorded to us during our arrival,” he said.

For his part, Kassim Njie Dampha, Gambia’s honourary counsul to Spain described the project as vital. He gave a brief background of how the project came about.

He explained that “the people of  Noo Kunda wrote a proposal project to the Spainiard in 2004 and later it was deliver to the Regional Ministry, Catalonia Department of Agriculture. Last January, a high powered delegation from The Gambia government also visited the Regional Ministry in Spain and discussed with them the future of agricultural development plan in The Gambia. At that meeting, the  ministry told them that they will start with the people of Noo Kunda in North Bank Region and when successful, it will also be implemented in other parts of the country,” he stated.

Honourable Lamin Kebba Jammeh, the National Assembly Member for Illiassa Constituency said the importance of the project cannot be overemphasis as it is meant to fight poverty and answering to the back to the land call of President Jammeh.

He then advised the youths to make best use of the project saying “the youths should follow the steps of the President by going back to the land. We elected him as our leader. Therefore, we should followed his footsteps and go back to the land,” he said.

Jammeh then saluted the government of Spain for their laudable gesture and advised the youths to work for their country and shun  illegal migration.

Ousman Badjie, an agricultural expert said that the structure will solve the problem of the people of North Bank Region.According to him, in most parts of the country, there are no storage facility and women produced vegetables at the same time during the dry season.

“When they produce at the same time, their is a blockade in the market because the price goes down and eventually most at them get rotten or even the Senegalese will come and buy it at a cheaper price” he concluded.