Japan donates fertilisers

The Gambian government has received about 50,000 bags of fertiliser from Japan under a Grant in Aid programme for increased food production programme, news agencies reported on Tuesday. The consignment which was received by government officials at Banjul port, consists of 1,000 mt of compound fertiliser, 700 mt of urea and 649 mt of double super phosphate. The 46,980 bags are to be sold and the proceeds deposited in a counterpart agriculture fund mutually agreed with Japan, the Daily Observer of Bangul reported. According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation, The Gambia is the smallest country on the African continent, with an area of 11,300 sq. km. Some 20 percent of the land is a wetland while cultivable land area is about 430,000 ha. It had a population of 1.2 million in 1998, most of whom were rural. Agriculture accounts for 25 percent of GDP and employs 60 percent of the households, although the country lies in the Sahelian agro-climatic zone and has a long dry season between November and May. Farming takes place on 180 000 ha, or some 40 percent of the country's cultivable land. Major crops grown are groundnuts, millet, sorghum, maize and rice. National policies give high priority to increased rice production using technologies which are environmentally friendly, FAO said.