INAUGURAL ADDRESS OF H.E. ADAMA BARROW PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE GAMBIA 19th January 2017

President Adama Barrow

Fellow Gambians and friends of The Gambia, I am humbled to stand before you to address the whole world on this historic occasion. This is a day no Gambian will ever forget in one’s life time. This is the first time since The Gambia became Independent in 1965 that Gambians have  change their government through the ballot box.

I must take this opportunity to thank the entire electorate of the Gambia and Gambians in the Diaspora for making this day possible.

I thank the entire campaign team of Coalition 2016 and the stakeholders for putting aside their political differences to unite us for the national interest.  

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, allow me to register special appreciation to Her Excellency Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of Liberia, and the Chairperson of Authority of Heads of States of ECOWAS, for her personal commitment and tireless efforts towards resolving the political crises in The Gambia. The sam sentiment goes to H ;EMuhammadou Buhari, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, H.E Ernest Bai Koroma, President of the Republic of Sierra Leone and H.E John Draman Mahama, former President of Ghana.

I must also express profound gratitude to ECOWAS, AU, the Security Council of the United Nations and all friendly nations who stood by us during our time of greatest need. 

Fish Sellers in Serrekunda Market decry diminishing fish industry

Fish Vendor busy at the Tanji Sea site

Fish sellers in the Serrekunda market which can be considered as one of the biggest market that supplied more than 200,000 inhabitants with daily fish consumptions cried low catch of fish nowadays. 

In an exclusive chat with Mansa Banko Blog, speaker after speaker lamented the high cost of fish saying that nowadays, they are not getting plenty fish from the fishermen compared to the past five years thus the price of fish is escalating daily in the market.

Mrs. Meita Bojang, narrated that she have been in the fishing industry buying and selling fish (Bonga) for the past seven (7) years, and noted that “the prices fluctuate  as sometimes it is cheap and a times its expensive.”

 “When we got it at cheap price from the fishermen, we also sell it at cheap price and if we get it at an expensive price vice versa,” she said.

No fish, no health- Fish meal contain proteins

In Africa, including the Islamic Republic of the Gambia, many families suffer from malnutrition due to lack of good quality fish consumption in their houses.

The problem of malnutrition affects the entire population, but for children under five and pregnant women are especially vulnerable. 

Poor communities are more dependent on the natural resources they find in their surroundings than wealthy people are. The poor, moreover, are especially vulnerable in situations of crisis. 

The fishing sector is important for developing countries in other ways as well; it is a source of income for fish-folk. 

We mainly treat malaria, pneumonia, diarrhoea, anaemia, hypertension and pregnancy related complications- and most of them are made worse by malnutrition.

If fishing grounds are to stay rich in the long run, they must not be over exploited to provide food for millions.

GENDER AND YOUTH: New models of masculinity and feminity to fight gender inequality

Women and Youth

The Policy Framework and Reform Strategy for Fisheries and Aquaculture in Africa- Creating a conducive and enabling environment for the fish sector to create equitable, social and economic development in Africa, highlights that, to a make sustainable positive changes in gender equality, a long-term bottom-up process requiring adequate funding is needed and to recongnize the critical role played by women within fisheries.

According to the Policy document, putting in place mechanisms to promote and protect women’s rights to participate in all aspects of marine, coastal and inland water fisheries governance and management and seek to improve access of women to fish and fish markets, particularly through the provision of credit at affordable rates is key. While consideration of age is important in gender analysis, youth also needs specific attention in its own right.

AU-IBAR, World Bank others raised concerns on the marginalization of the fisheries sector

This event- Fisheries Communications Workshop on Harnessing the Power of Media to Raise Awareness on the issues of the African Fisheries Sector- is the culmination of enormous collective efforts which began with conceptualization of the idea by World Bank team in collobration with AU-IBAR and many other institutions that contributed in one form or another towards the organisation of the workshop says Dr. Mohamed Seisay, Senior Fisheries Officer AU-IBAR.

Dr. Seisay was reading a statement on behalf of the AU-IBAR Director at the official opening ceremony of the 29^th February-4^th March, 2016 African Journalists for Sustainable Fisheries Workshop held in Elmina, Ghana which gathered more than 140 journalists- newspapers, TV, radios and online from 40 African countries.

Giving a brief overview of the African union institute, the co-convener of the workshop said the inter African Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR) is a speacilized technical office of the Department of Rural Economy and Agriculture (DREA) of the African Union Commission and has been in existence since 1951 with main focus on animal production and health issues, livestock, fisheries and wildlife as resources for both human wellbeing and economic development in the Member States of the African Union.

AU-IBAR, World Bank in collaboration with USAID to edified journalists on African Fisheries

The African Union Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR) and the World Bank in collaboration with USAID and the West Africa Sub-Regional Fisheries Commission will jointly host the Fisheries Communication Workshop, according to a media alert made available to Mansa Banko blog. 

The Ghana, workshop will be held in Elimina, Accra from 29th February – 4th March, 2016.
 
The workshop will bring together print, online, radio and TV journalists under the theme “Harnessing the Power of Media to Raise Awareness on Africa’ Fisheries”.

The AU/IBAR and World Bank will cover the cost of participation for sponsored participants including air tickets and accommodation.

Participants attending the high level workshop to gather more than 140 journalists with vast experience in reporting and broadcasting from the print, electronic, online and TV from 40 African countries. 

Ace Communications Executive introduces regional training programme for youth

Fatim Badgie, CEO ACE Communications Executive

Ace Communications Executive is planning to commence a regional programme that will provide opportunity for youths in the ECOWAS countries of Ghana, Nigeria and The Gambia to undergo exchange training programmes in each of the three countries.

It plans to do this through an initiative called The Youth Traineeship Exchange Program (YTEP).

YTEP seeks to build the capacity of youths for self-sufficiency and socio-economic development.

The skills training is designed for young people in the rural areas between the ages of 21 – 35 yrs from the three ECOWAS countries of The Gambia, Ghana and Nigeria. The purpose is to give youths the opportunity to become self-sufficient by learning practical skills and gain work experience in a country different from their country of origin.

The Youth Traineeship Exchange Program will not only provide a platform for unemployed, low educated and unskilled youths to attain viable skills and work experience, but will also contribute immensely to the emancipation of these youths from the shackles of perpetual unemployment and poverty.

Make ‘rural transformation a reality,’ IFAD President tells Member States at annual meeting

Governing Council also endorses International Day of Family Remittances

 

 

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Rome, 17 February 2015 – The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) ended its 38th Governing Council meeting today by renewing its commitment to tackle persistent poverty and continued food insecurity by transforming rural areas in developing countries through better quality investments, ensuring greater equality and IFADinclusive growth that delivers economic benefits for women, youth and other marginalized people.

In his closing address, IFAD President Kanayo F. Nwanze said that “aid will work itself out of a job only once we have achieved rural transformation so that rural areas provide employment, services and opportunities for the three billion people who live in them, and particularly for those whose lives depend on smallholder farms.” This echoed Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of Oxfam International, who spoke about the future of aid at the inaugural IFAD Lecture Series on the same day.

A Unique New Library for The Gambia – The African Poetry Library

The Gambia is one of only five recipient countries on the continent to host a new African Poetry Library donated by the African Poetry Book Fund, a foundation to promote poetry in Africa, based at the University of Nebraska in the USA.

The African Poetry Library – a Reading Library in The Gambia is thanks to the efforts of the African Poetry Book Fund (APBF), Prairie Schooner, (the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's literary journal), and University of Nebraska-Lincoln's (UNL) Libraries in conjunction with individuals and organisations in The Gambia, Botswana, Ghana, Kenya and Uganda.

The African Poetry Library Initiative is a collaborative venture to establish accessible and user friendly small poetry libraries on the African continent to support aspiring and established poets giving them access to contemporary poetry in books and journals, and serving as a resource for poets interested in publication in Africa and around the world. Each library received 300 books, journals and magazines during the summer of 2014 and will receive a further 300 books journals and magazines in 2015 and again in 2016.

The National Centre for Arts and Culture (NCAC) have partnered on this prestigious project and are hosting the library at the Centre’s Office in Fajara, behind GT Bank. The caretaker organisations of the library are the African Homecomers Collective and SABLE LitMag who have negotiated the discussion with the AFPB to install and receive the Reading library which will be run by their volunteers.

GIs are sign used on goods that have a specific quality linked to its geographical origin- Peter REDD

From left: Peter, Njie and Kalu

Mr. Peter Damary from REDD stated that OLP have a special ‘typical’ quality that is linked to its ‘origin’ (the terroir0 saying that this link can be through: natural factor, and/ or human factors (special know-how, history).

Peter Damary was given a presentation on: What is an Origin Linked Product (OLP) and What is a Geographical Indication (GI), How do we define the link to the ‘Terroir’, in Akosombo, Ghana for this third Regional Training Course on Identification and Inventory of Origin Linked Quality Products and Geographical Indications from the 12^th to 16^th May, 2014.

According to him, GI in simple terms, it is legally recognized and protected name of an Origin Linked Product. Protected as an Intellectual Property (IP), he said may take various forms, such as collective or certification marks. 

Usually protects names with an existing ‘reputation’, said Peter.

African region has a great potential of origin linked quality products

Group pic after the opening ceremony

Mr. Vincent Fautrel, Senior Programme Coordinator Agricultural Trade and Value Chain Development Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Co-operation (ACP-EU) says the African region has a great potential of origin linked quality products: Coffee from Guinea, Atieke from Côte d’Ivoire, and Pineapple from Benin, just to mention a few.

CTA: “our interest in Origin Linked Quality Products (OLQP) and Geographical Identifications (GIs) started in the mid 2000 in the context of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) discussions but also in the framework of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) negotiations. We commissioned a few papers to highlight the key issues for the ACP countries and organized in 2008 the first ACP-EU technical workshop in Montpellier France together with CIRAD, INRA and AFD."

Mr. Fautrel was speaking at the official opening ceremony of a training workshop on Identification and Inventory of Origin Linked Quality Products Capacity strengthening programme for Central and West African countries in Akossombo, Ghana, scheduled to take place from 12^th -16th May 2014.

The training was the third in a series, as the first two trainings were organised for the French-speaking countries in 2013 in Benin and Burkina Faso. 

Two Gambian Journalists off to Ghana

Njie and Faye in Ghana

Mamadou Edrisa Njie, Editorial Assiatant and Newsroom Coordinator and Ms Amie Faye Senior Staff Reporter at The Gambia News and Report weekly magazine, Sunday left Banjul International Airport to attend a weeklong training workshop on Identification and Inventory of Origin Linked Quality Products Capacity strengthening programme for Central and West African countries in Akossombo, Ghana, scheduled to take place from 12 to 17 May 2014.

The training was the third in a series, as the first two trainings were organised for the French-speaking countries in 2013 in Benin and Burkina Faso.

The third training attracted participants from The Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Rwanda and Sierra Leone.

The workshop targeted farmer organisations, policy makers, local authorities, rural leaders, NGOs and other sectors of society.