<p></p><p>Farmer organisations and Government agencies recently concluded a three-day consultative meeting organised by the International Rural Development (IRD).</p> <p>The objective of the meeting was, among other things, to review the past implemented projects, as well as to discuss key areas in which they have made progress and identify those that need adjustment. It was also designed to learn, share information and to plan for the coming project activities. <br></p> <p>Kebba Jassey, Project Manager and Assistant Country Representative, on behalf of the Country Director of the International Rural Development (IRD), said IRD is closely working in partnership with the farmer associations and Government agencies. <br></p> <p>He informed the gathering that the Cashew Enhancement Project Phase 2 (CEP2) is a three-year project funded by the United States Department for Agriculture (USDA), which is running for the past three years. “The first phase which started in 2009 and ended in December 2012 is the second phase which is supposed to end this year December, but has been extended to September 30 2016 and the extension is due to the delay in meeting some of the set targets.” <br></p> <p>He underscored the significant achievements registered in the past couple of years, some of which include information sharing, cashew cultivation being promoted and taken up as a private crop. <br></p> <p>This development, Jassey said, was made during a census by all cashew households in all the six regions in The Gambia. “Also, tremendous achievements have been made on farmer training covering over 60,000 farmers within the country. We have reached almost every household in terms of training and one important thing we did was to advise the farmers to apply best practices in cashew production with good quality,” he added.</p> <p> He recalled that farmers used to complain about bad prices, but that with the best practices applied, they have realised significant gains in both its usage and quality. <br></p> <p>“Today, The Gambia is internationally recognised as a high quality supplier of raw cashewnuts and we want to maintain that reputation. We have also succeeded in making sure that the farmers are well organised. This means, if you do things individually there are certain things that you cannot achieve, but collectively as a group we can make significant gains at the end. We believe in spontaneous action and this is why we are partnering with the farmer associations by ensuring that our set targets are met,” the Project Manager remarked. <br></p> <p>Speaking on behalf of the President of Cashew Alliance of The Gambia, Alpha O. Jallow, the Executive Secretary of Cashew Alliance The Gambia (CAG), said CAG is a national association comprising all cashew stakeholders including farmers, processors, traders and exporters in The Gambia. “It was established in 2010 as the apex body for the cashew industry and to further the interests of the cashew sector in The Gambia. It has a current membership of 26 registered associations, institutions and companies representing various cashew value chain actors countrywide. CAG also represents the interest of the African Cashew Alliance (ACA) in The Gambia,” he stated. <br></p> <p>Jallow underscored the importance of the sector in the country’s development efforts, acknowledging that the sector contributes greatly to improving rural livelihoods, thereby creating employment, as well as bringing in the much needed foreign currency in the country. <br></p> <p>“Since the official launching of the strategy in 2014, its implementation is being coordinated and monitored by a private-public coordination committee called the Cashew Sector Working Group, which is hosted by The Gambia Investment & Export Promotion Agency (GIEPA), chaired by CAG and of which IRD is also a member, all under the auspices of the Ministry of Trade, Industry, Regional Integration & Employment,” he told the gathering. <br></p> <p>The Executive Secretary went on to hail the IRD for organising such an important forum of cashew stakeholders involving buyers and grower associations, among others. <br></p> <p>Other speakers at the forum included: Benjamin, IRD Monitoring and Evaluation Director and Representative from Dakar; George Nuki, Representative of NGO Affairs Agency and Olu Roberts, IRD Coordinator.<br></p><p></p>