LHDP Support farmers’ to form Co-operative organisations countrywide

 Farmers' hands up for Co-operative organisations

     

Livestock and Horticulture Development Project (LHDP) a co-financing project-International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD.ORG), African Development Bank (AfDB.ORG) and the government of The Gambia staff are on a countrywide sensitization and awareness creation for establishment of the project beneficiaries into producer co-operatives from 27^th November to 1^st December, 2013.

LDHP is targeting horticulture and rural poultry beneficiaries that are supported by the project and the purpose of these cooperatives is to improve small holder farmers’ access to markets and to create a fair price for goods.

UN resolution on the right to privacy, a first step – UN expert on freedom of expression

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression, Frank La Rue, welcomed the adoption of a resolution on the protection of the right to privacy in the digital age by the UN General Assembly, but stressed that this is a first step. “Much more can and must be done to ensure trust in the safety of communications around the world,” he said.
 
The resolution recognizes the need for States to revise their own laws and practices regarding the surveillance of communications and to establish oversight mechanisms to ensure transparency and accountability for surveillance initiatives, as Mr. La Rue recommended in his latest report* to the UN Human Rights Council.

Gambia: CPA from the perspective of project staff

Written by Jorge Esteban Moreno and Alessia Bartolucci

Group Pic: Gambian Delegates (Credit: @IFAD}

Following the success of the joint Headquarters -country CPA meeting, on 7 November 2013, The Gambia team hosted a learning event on the Country Programme Approach (CPA) at IFAD headquarters taking advantage of the presence in Rome of a Gambia delegation attending the 2nd Financial Management Forum. The Gambia delegation was led by Mod K. Ceesay, Permanent Secretary II from Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs. With a room full of participants, Lamin AD Sanyang (Chairperson of the CPA and Project Director of LHDP), gave a detailed presentation on the overall, progress, achievements and lessons learned made by the team. 

The CPA comprises the four IFAD-financed on-going projects namely: RFP, PIWAMP, Nema and LHDP under the Ministry of Agriculture. The approach enables the creation of synergies between all projects and consolidates IFAD’s operations in the Gambia. Single project performance is no longer considered sufficient and the CPA ensures maximum impact of project implementation.

AfDB and African Virtual University discuss benefits of e-learning

The African Virtual University (AVU) Project very critical to the effort to improve access to higher education in Africa

NAIROBI, Kenya, November 26, 2013/ -- “We consider the African Virtual University (AVU) Project very critical to the effort to improve access to higher education in Africa and are pleased to learn that the deliberations on the integration of e-learning and open education into mainstream education programs was fruitful,” concluded Stefan Muller, Lead Economist of the African Development Bank’s (AfDB) (http://www.afdb.org) East Africa Regional Resource Center (EARC) during the first international conference African Virtual University organized from November 20-22, 2013 in Nairobi.

IFAD funded projects linking beneficiaries with rural MFIs

Group Pic: CBG, RFP, Nema/PIWAMP, LHDP, GYIN Gambia

The International Fund for Agricultural Development Project (IFAD) supported projects in The Gambia-Rural Finance Project (RFP), Participatory Integrated Watershed Management Project (PIWAMP)/ National Agricultural Land and Water Management Development Project (Nema) and Livestock and Horticulture Development Project (LHDP) together with Micro-Finance Department Central Bank of The Gambia (CBG) and Global Youth  Innovation Network Gambia chapter (GYIN Gambia chapter) are on a countrywide tour linking Country Programme Approach (CPA) beneficiaries to Micro-Finance Institutions (MFIs) in their respective regions.

Frontline Extension Workers trains on IPM Curriculum

Ensa Colley M&E Nema

The National Agricultural Land and Water Management Development Project (Nema) in participation with the Plant Protection Services gathered Agricultural Extension workers, Conservation Field Assistants (CFAs), Project Staff, Focal Point Nema project, Department of Agriculture Staff etc, for them to be able to understand Integrated Pest Management (IPM) control and protection.

The training will run from 7^th to 9^th November, 2013 and is been held at Jenoi Agricultural Farmers Training Centre in Lower River Region; funded by Nema project and is been implemented by the Plant Protection Services as a Service Provider.

IFAD Director West and Central Africa Speaks

IFAD Director for West and Central Africa

Ides v.d Does de Willebois,International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) Director for West and Central Africa, in an interview with reporters explained that the National Agricultural Land and Water Management Development (Nema) is being implemented with a combination of funding from IFAD, the Government of The Gambia. Additional funding are expected from theIslamicDevelopment Bank (IsDB) and the World Bank He added that all the players have timeline for funding project and here the goal is to support agricultural priorities in the country.