Gambian President Adama Barrow, and African Development Bank (AfDB) Group Head, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, have pledged to boost rice production and invest in the country’s vibrant youth and women entrepreneurs.
The bank, on its website, said the duo agreed when Gambian’s president received Adesina in Banjul.
According to the Gambian president, the Russian-Ukrainian war presents an opportunity for us to solve the problem of food security.
Barrow said there was no reason why Africans should not feed themselves.
He reiterated the need for his country to commercialise its rice production to produce enough rice for the people.
“Local production currently meets less than 20 per cent of the demand for rice, which is Gambia’s staple food.
“The AfDB Group is supporting the country’s efforts to produce 200,000 additional tons of paddy rice by 2028, reducing imports to zero.
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“This is in addition to supporting women and youth entrepreneurship in a country where around 65 per cent of the population is under the age of 25.
“Infrastructure, particularly road construction, is a critical area for the AfDB’s support,” Barrow said.
While expressing gratitude to AfDB for its support, Barrow urged the bank to offer more support to enable the country expand its production.
On his part, the AfDB president described The Gambia as an important shareholder since it joined the institution in 1974.
The AfDB boss said: “Since we have been supporting The Gambia, we have provided about US$540 million in support.
“Currently, our support is quite significant. It is about US$282 million, which covers energy, inequality, agriculture, governance, water and sanitation, and support for youth and women.”
Adesina highlighted the importance of the Senegambia Bridge to cross-border trade, saying that the bridge opened in 2019.
He said: “I told President Barrow how pleased I am with the Senegambia Bridge, which the AfDB financed at the cost of about US$104 million.
“It is a landmark piece of infrastructure. A beautiful bridge that has improved trade between Senegal and The Gambia and the rest of the West African region.
“The AfDB Group is helping to cushion The Gambia from some of the impacts of the Russia/Ukraine war, including rising food insecurity and commodity prices.
“The bank has provided about US$19 million to help the country produce more food, with the objective of achieving self-sufficiency in rice production.”
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According to Adesina, support for electricity in The Gambia will bring power to about 1.3 million people.
He said the Bank Group’s Board had approved a new US$21 million project that would increase rural access to electricity, as well as several other projects.
Adesina said: “I am excited by the president’s determination to support Gambian youth.
“And AfDB is ready and willing to support and finance the creation of what we call Youth Entrepreneurship Investment Banks.
“These will be new financial institutions that will support young Gambian entrepreneurs to thrive. And president Barrow was very receptive to this. He wants a lot of work done to support women in The Gambia.”
The AfDB boss said the bank was also supporting the establishment of its Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) initiative in The Gambia.
Adesina said it would provide funding for financial institutions to lend money to women entrepreneurs at affordable rates.
“I commended president Barrow’s efforts on infrastructure.
“He told me, there is no development without infrastructure, and I agree with him. He said the first, second, and third priorities for him are one and the same: infrastructure,”Adesina said.
The News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) reports that AfDB is uniquely positioned to continue providing long-term concessional financing and advisory services to The Gambia.
“The bank is also positioned to provide funds to enable the country accelerate structural transformation and address drivers of fragility. This makes it one of the country’s preferred development partners,” Adesina added.