DECLARATION OF FARMERS ORGANIZATIONS
AT THE
NATIONAL FARMERS CONFERENCE
JANJANBUREH, CENTRAL RIVER REGION
30 MAY 2012
PREAMBLE
WE THE FARMERS ORGANIZATIONS of the Republic of the Gambia, meeting here in
Janjabureh, in the Central Region of the country in a National Farmers
Conference from 29 – 30 May 2012, and with the full mandate of all the
registered Organizations in the country, including the present Apex bodies of these
organizations:
RECOGNIZING the high importance of farmers organizations in the
economy of the country in general, and the Agriculture and Natural Resources (ANR)
sector in particular, essentially
as potential tools with which to facilitate the organization of farmers into
entities, forge partnerships with sources of support, provide platforms for
dialogues with Government and Development Partners, through which they could
effectively obtain advantages from advocacy, negotiations, mobilization of
resources, communication, securing cost effective goods and services that will
enhance their enterprises and achieve the best of options for themselves and
their connections;
RECALLING that Farmers Organizations have been established, and
such organizations are registered, functional and operational in various parts
of the country, under various orientations;
HAVING REALIZED that for such Organizations to be effective, basic
needs and requirements have to be met, such as physical assets including:
offices, office furniture, communication equipment, mobility; financial
resources to secure and or produce goods and services the benefit of their
clients; human resources with knowledge and skills to carry out the prescribed
activities of the Organizations and produce the required results
HAVING EXPERIENCED that the sources from which these Organizations
obtain resources to meet the needs and requirements for them to be functional
and operational are largely from their membership constituents, the majority of
which have very limited financial capacities to make generous contributions to their
Organizations; and that other sources of financial support to the Organizations
are few and far between
CONSIDERING also that the prevailing environment in the economy
of the country, and the high demands on the sector for it to raise its
performance to meet national priorities of Vision 2020, the Millennium
Development Goals, particularly halving hunger by 2015, and the Programme for
Accelerated Growth and Employment (PAGE), all require farmers and operators in
the ANR sector to be more cohesive, inter-linked, united engaging and expanding
economies of scale among themselves especially for mechanization, irrigation, marketing, trade and
pricing; and that such requirements could best be met through Farmers
Organizations:
TAKING INTO CONSIDERATION that the Government has established the first
Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy in the country, and that the policy
has clearly elaborated the importance of Farmers Organizations in the country,
and made provisions to achieve clear objectives for such agents in the sector,
especially:
Quote:
“ Farmers Organizations will be facilitated to
be well and formally organised, with appropriate capacities to manage their
enterprises and develop and maintain effective institutional performance,
including planning, negotiating, communicating and networking, transforming
themselves into formal institutions, building partnerships; facilitating the
mobilization of resources”;
Noting
the above,
WE THE FARMERS ORGANIZATIONS THEREFORE:
EXTEND SINCERE CONGRATUALTIONS to the Government under the leadership of His
Excellency President Chiekh, Professor, Alhaji, Yahya A. J. J. Jammeh for the
initiative to organise and hold this National Farmers Conference, as we
consider it to be timely, when farmers should be at the height of their
vocations to take advantage of the various opportunities that are now available
for the sector, with high demands for staple food commodities; expanding high
value markets, both internal and external, within the sub region and the global
space;
THANK MOST SINCERELY the Government under the leadership of His Excellency
President Chiekh, Professor, Alhaji, Yahya A. J. J. Jammeh, through the Hon.
Solomon Owens, Minister for Agriculture, for inviting the Farmers Organizations
to participate in this historic event of the first National Farmers Conference;
THANK ALSO MOST PROFOUNDLY, the Government of the Gambia Government under the
leadership of His Excellency President Chiekh, Professor, Alhaji, Yahya A. J.
J. Jammeh for its persistence and commitment to formulate and present the
Gambia Agriculture and Food Security Programme, (GAFSP), with the support of
the FAO and other Development Partners, and most importantly, congratulate it
for the approval of the Programme this May 2012 in Washington, USA, , with the
strong influence of International
Farmers Associations Network including ROPPA
RECALL WITH GRATITUDE the BACK TO THE
LAND CLARION CALL of H. E. the President of the Republic of the Gambia
Chiekh, Professor, Alhaji, Yahya A. J. J. Jammeh, which inspired farmers
and Farmers
Organizations to adopt the slogan “EAT
WHAT WE GROW AND GROW WHAT WE EAT”
AFFIRM the concerted support of the Farmers Organizations for the
Government’s current policy and programme frameworks for the sector, especially
the new ANR sector policy; the Gambia National Agriculture Investment Plan (GNAIP),
and the Programme for Accelerated Growth and Employment (PAGE). We believe they
reflect appropriately the urgent demands in the sector, especially widespread
dissemination of improved technologies such as affordable mechanization,
irrigation, high quality seeds and germ plasm, agro-chemicals, strengthened
farmers groups, associations, organizations and their Apex Bodies
AFFIRM ALSO our commitment as Farmers Organizations and representatives
of small holder farmers to work with the Government, our membership, partners
and all relevant stakeholders in a transparent and accountable manner to
ensure:
- Increased participation of farmers in
decision making processes of the policy frameworks of the Government
-
The development of sustainable mechanisms for availability and affordability of
farming inputs for farmers, such as fertilizers, seeds, and farming tools and
equipment
-
The development of the capacities of farmers particularly in relation to
factors that limit marketing opportunities and entrepreneurship development
-
The development of sustainable long term solutions to end crop failures and
food shortages in The Gambia
-The
development of mechanisms to build the resilience of farmers and communities in
occurrences of food crises and emergency situations
-
That research in the ANR sector meets the current needs of farmers and
operators in the sector;
ENCOURAGE THE GOVERNMENT
TO:
- Work towards getting a Rights to Food Legislation as
contained in the FAO Voluntary Guidelines on the Rights to Food
- Continue to attain the commitment in the Maputo
Declaration of allocating at least 10% of National Budget to Agriculture
- Build capacities of small holder farmers, particularly
women farmers and youths in order
to sustain the achievement of sustainable household food security;
COMMIT ourselves to:
- pursue a transparent and accountable
process of managing the organizations of farmers in the country;
-
align our interventions and resources to complement national programmes for
farmers in the Gambia as contained in national policy and programme frameworks
including: the Programme for Accelerated Growth and Employment (PAGE), the
Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan (GNAIP), and the Agriculture and
Natural Resources (ANR) policy;
REQUEST Government to urgently set up mechanisms for dialogue
between the Farmers Organizations and the Government, Development Partners;
Private sector businesses concerns, essentially to enhance the opportunities of
the Farmers Organizations to be:
Reliably
functional; efficiently operational and improve their performance in a number
of areas, including:
- strengthening their capacities (improved knowledge,
skills and facilities) to enable them to provide appropriate and efficient
services to their members
- increasing registration and expand the networks of
farmers groups, organizations and Union, and building the capacities of these
clients for self reliant development and investment
- mobilizing resources for programmes, plans, and
Initiatives
- intensify their Advocacy for support to farmers and
their connections;
- establishing linkages and forge partnerships between
farmers and sources of support, especially Government and Development Partners
- participating in all stages of conception, planning,
programming, resources mobilization, delivery and monitoring of high level
projects in the ANR sector
- participating in developing and establishing pricing
policies and investment codes; creation of niche and new markets for
agricultural commodities
- extending the information outreach on recent
developments research, markets, policy orientations that have high implications
for farmers and operators in the ANR sector
-
determining the nature and scope of involvement of Farmers Organizations in the
delivery of major frameworks and activities in the sector;
FURTHER ENCOURAGE the Government to facilitate the setting up and or
strengthening existing mechanisms for providing cost-effective, affordable and
sustainable Financial Services for farmers and operators in the ANR sector,
such as:
-
CREDIT facilities for operating enterprises, development and investment
-
TRUST FUNDS
-
REVOLVING FUNDS in projects
-
AGRICULTURAL INSURANCE SCHEMES
REQUEST the Government to revitalise existing structures such
as the ANR Working Group, the Select Committee of the General Assembly with
oversight responsibility on the ANR sector to review and take follow up actions
on the Declarations and outcomes from this Conference.
DONE THIS DAY WEDNESDAY, 30 MAY 2012
AT JANJABUREH, IN THE CENTRAL
REGION OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE GAMBIA
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