Apathy towards farming has always been associated with individuals’ reluctance to cultivate the land. But the campaign being spearheaded by President Jammeh has evidently  changed the face of the whole situation to a great extent.

Along the line, it has become clear that in fact, there is more to the problem than just attitude. Let us assume that 14 years back Gambians were not willing to till the land. Today, however, the enthusiasm is unequivocally tremendous. It makes the long term outlook of living in The Gambia pretty much promising.

However, it must be borne in mind that the realistic attainment of this promising prospect, demands that we maintain the momentum. Of course, the political will, which should serve as an overall motivating factor, actually does exist; we only have to pray that it remains with us for the next, say, five decades.

But the complexity of the system demands that permanent structures are in place if subsequent generations of Gambians would appreciate whatever we will be passing down to them. All this demands a massive investment by this generation; investment not only in terms of effort, but also in terms of agricultural infrastructural development.

Despite all the steps we have taken, we will not get anywhere or our explicitly genuine efforts won’t have any meaningful impact if we do not put in place the right mechanisms that would ensure sustenance of the practice. As a matter of fact, sustenance of a productive agricultural sector would require total commercialisation, and in this case, the intervention of the private sector would be paramount to that effect.

The private sector has an epic role to play here. Apart from provision of the resources, marketing, which forms a core factor in any sustainable business venture,  is a domain the private sector can help in. The call by the secretary of state for Trade, Industry an Employment was indeed quite well placed in this regard.

A prudent approach to this noble suggestion of his would not only ensure a sure and sustainable food supply, but will also make room for employment opportunities, as such an intervention has the potential to revolutionize the sector.