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| Ousman Jammeh with his IPAD shortly after delivering his speech |
The
Nema is a seven-year (2013 to 2019) project
designed to build on the achievements and experience of earlier International
Fund for Agricultural Development, IFAD financed projects in The Gambia-Rural
Finance Project (RFP), the Participatory Integrated Watershed Management
Development Project (PIWAMP) and Horticulture Development Project (LHDP) in the
agricultural sector under the Ministry of Agriculture.
The
March 4th- 6th second ‘Dialogue Forum’ is underway at the
Wellengara Agricultural Garden Training Centre in West Coast Region.
The
overall goal of Nema project,
Jammeh said is to reduce
poverty of rural women and youth. The development objective is to increase incomes from improved productivity
based on sustainable land and water management practices.
Jammeh said the geographic coverage of
the project is defined as all six Agricultural Regional Directorates along the
River Gambia- North Bank Region (NBR), Lower River Region (LRR), West Coast
Region (WCR) Central River Region (CRR South and North), Upper River Region (URR),
essentially the whole rural sector.
He told
his audience that the second ‘Dialogue Forum’ is a follow-up to the first dialogue forum ever
held at the same venue from (28th – 29th November, 2013)
saying that the Project Support Unit (PSU) has decided to conduct a second
forum in which it plans a plethora of presentations by service providers and
stakeholders as well as chart a way forward for meaningful cooperation and
implementation.
As
dictated by the magnitude and significance of this project, which is the most
expensive Agricultural Project so far initiated in our beloved Gambia, it
therefore deserves our undivided attention so that we grasp the cardinal issues
for further and genuine discussions, Jammeh pointe out.
“It is therefore incumbent upon all of us to
be critical in our approach but constructive as well as advance suggested
panacea to any issue one is critical about.
“I
must also state that, although I salute and applaud The Project Director’s numerous emphasis on ensuring work through
its implementation agencies, I encourage him and his team to live up to
expectation and hence mark a significant departure from the mode of operation
of many standalone agricultural projects.
"Your principal preoccupation must be
coordination and monitoring of Project activities. In that, you will be able to
ensure that that the bulk of the resources go to the beneficiaries at the level
of the field and at the same time avoid unnecessary work overload on the PIU
resulting to unacceptable low levels of meeting project targets as it has been
the suffocating impact on some ill guided projects.”
The
project team, he went on to say that, they must endeavour to share information,
ensure transparency amongst the project team as well as the implementing agencies and beneficiaries
with regards to all relevant key aspects of the Project.
“This
will engender common understanding, ensure a leveled playing field as well as
ease implementation of project activities.”
However,
it must be applauded and noted that this dialogue forum has the potential to
partially fulfill that objective.
Director
Jammeh also seize the opportunity to encourage the Department of Agriculture
and all the other implementing agencies of the National Agricultural Land and
Water Management Development Project (Nema)
to continually re-examine their staff capacity at the level of the field so
that they can be making the necessary adjustments to ensure that they live up
to expectation.
Hear
Him: “For Project implementation to be successful, it is important that the
right staff and their numbers as well as a progressive reward system are
available at the level of the field,” he concluded.
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