Gambia is Good gets better!
6 Jun 2012
New transport and tunnels for GiG
Two brand new trucks and 4 greenhouse tunnels have been presented to Concern Universal which will significantly help the work of the Gambia is Good (GIG) project.
The new vehicles and tunnels are part of a €70,000 grant by the Japanese Embassy in Dakar geared towards improving the agricultural environment in The Gambia.
GIG is a horticultural sales & marketing business conceived as a partnership between Haygrove (a private UK business) and Concern Universal. It provides a market outlet and distribution channel for small-scale Gambian farmers, helping to enable their transition from subsistence farming to commercial enterprise. GIG purchases from nearly 1,000 growers, 90% of whom are women.
GIG delivers free to the main populated areas of Bakau, Serrekunda, Fajara, Kololi, Cape Point, Kotu and the Senegambia hotel area. It also has a market at Concern Universal headquarters in Fajara.
A recent independent evaluation states that over the last three years, GIG growers have increased their income by an average of 500%.
GIG General Manager Banky Njie said;
“This new vehicle will have a major impact on the work of GIG and significantly improve its capacity to carry out its operation. It will hugely assist farmers in the satellite village around Sifoe to effectively transport their goods to the market.
It will mean that we can now bring large supplies of key products such as manure and fertilizers to our farm when required and won’t have to depend on others to arrange this.
The green house tunnels will allow for longer growing seasons, protect crops from excess rain during the rainy season and control pests from damaging the crops too. They also serve as best practice models and investment opportunities to our farmers. High value crops can be grown in these greenhouses, which will increase the earning potential of smallholder farmers.
Our goal at GIG is to help farmers make the transition from subsistence agriculture to commercial enterprise. This new truck will mean that farmers will no longer have to pay for public transport to transfer their goods nor will there be delays in the arrival for vital equipment.
I would like to extend my sincere thanks to the Japanese Embassy in Dakar for their continued support.”
