The Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending Establishment Project (GAMIRSALEP), a project under the Central Project Coordinating Unit (CPCU) held a sensitization of stakeholders at the NACCUG Head Quarters, Bakau.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Abdoulie Touray, Project Coordinator at the Central Project Coordinating Unit (CPCU) unveiled that GAMIRSALEP is one of the 9 projects formulated by government which are aimed at helping to address food insecurity, unemployment, and poverty.
“GAMIRSALEP is specifically designed to address lack of access to finance. I am particularly happy that we are here in NACCUG together with actors in the agricultural value chains and the Financial Institutions to witness the launch of this very important project,” he said.
According to the Project Coordinator, GAMIRSALEP is here to help derisk lending for agriculture and implored the representatives of the Fis to make good use of the opportunity and to contribute to increase investments in the agricultural value chains to spur and stimulate accelerated economic growth and development.
The Project Coordinator also used the opportunity to inform the farmers that certified maize and rice seeds are available for collection at the UAD and urged them to make good use of the assistance from the various agricultural projects.
Binta Jallow Janneh, Deputy Mayor KMC stated that despite the alarming decline in agricultural production in KMC and Banjul due mainly to rapid population growth and industrialization, majority of the critical actors in the financial sector are located within these two regions.
She added that The Gambia’s adverse business environment is impeding private sector growth. The sector’s productivity especially the industrial output base remains undiversified and largely dominated by food processing, industrial seafood, and the sale of imported construction materials.
“The Financial sector remains stable, with well capitalized commercial banks, although they are not financing the agricultural sector as envisaged by our farming communities and the other actors in the agricultural value chains. Agriculture receives about 4% of total industry credit due partly to the perceived risks, high interest rates and lack of collateral,” she mentioned.
The Deputy Mayor of KMC further stressed that Climate Change has exacerbated this situation by making agriculture risky and less competitive, and therefore, reducing financial institutions’ appetite to lend to farmers and agribusinesses. Furthermore.
She alluded that the issues of lack of acceptable collateral, absence of risk mitigating instruments and high interest rates remain key barriers to access to financial for productive private investments in agriculture and thus making it virtually impossible especially for women and youths to access the required capital for meaningful investment in agriculture.
Therefore, according to her, the formulation of the GAMIRSALEP and the mobilization of the required resources to make it operational is a step in the right direction.
Also speaking at the opening ceremony, Emmanuel Mendy Deputy Director General, Deputy Director General Department of Livestock Services, states that these projects are designed to facilitate the implementation of government policies and programmes.
“GAMIRSALEP has come at the right time. Actors in the agricultural value chains are here intervening in diverse areas,” he concluded.