At least one hundred staffers from the Judiciary and the Department of State for Justice over the weekend harvested  a vast Munku rice field in Kanilai.

Led to the President’s farm by Alhagie Omar Taal, deputy permanent secretary at the Department of State for Justice, the group were harvesting the third row of the Munku rice variety, which is harvestable seven times in a growing season.

Speaking at the harvesting exercise, Taal said they were in Kanilai to answer to the appeal of the Gambian leader to help him harvest his farm produce. He noted that the President has done a laudable thing in bringing the attention of the Gambian people back to the land.

 “Since rice is the most consumed food item in the country, its cultivation on a large scale jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj# should be given much attention. This move could further go a long way in curbing 50 percent of food shortage,’’ DPS Taal told the Daily Observer, and added “this could also enable the country to be food self sufficient and be in a position to export rice to other countries for the yield of foreign exchange’’.

Harouna Jaiteh, the Judicial secretary, said work on President Jammeh’s farms is a moral duty for all Gambians. The judicial secretary said that the president’s farming activities should be supported by all Gambians since the gains are plough back to the people through education, health care, amongst others.

“We have seen the reason behind that call. In the last few years, we have been told that the world is experiencing a food crisis. The president, who knew that the country could be faced with such crisis, put in a mechanism to avert such crises,’’ he said.

Elsewhere in Kanilai, hundreds of students from the Fonis also converged on the President’s Munku rice field in Kanilai for the fourth harvest.

In the same vein, one hundred Gambian students - currently warming up to pursue higher education in Venezuela early  next year - also descended on the Gambian leader’s sunflower farm, where they took part in the weeding of dry grasses.

The group were led to Kanilai by Ebrima Corr, deputy permanent secretary at the Office of the President.
For more see pictorial on pages 14-15.