The Vice President and Secretary of State for Women’s Affairs Dr Aja Isatou Njie-Saidy last Wednesday told Parliament that three months notice with effect from January 2009 as stipulated in their conditions of service has been given to all employees of Ex-NADA.

This was in response to a question by Hon. Babanding K.K. Daffeh, National Assembly Member for Kiang Central as to what is holding the restructuring of agriculture since the repeal of the National Agricultural Development Agency (NADA) in December 2008.

According to Vice President Njie-Saidy, the restructuring of agriculture following the repeal of the NADA in December 2008 is a process that is on course. “Three months notice with effect from January 2009 as stipulated in their conditions of service has been given to all employees of Ex-NADA”, she said, adding that the recruitment process has already started.

Also responding to another question by the same member as to the number of tractors in use out of 400 or more tractors brought into the country under the “Operation Feed Yourself” and “Operation Feed the Nation” by the President of the Republic, the Vice President informed parliament of plans of cataloguing all the tractors in the country irrespective of whether they belong to the department of state for agriculture or not.

As explained by the Vice President, the total number of tractors received by the Department of State for Agriculture is 80 and 28 are in use. This number, she added, was handed over at different times for the past three years and are of different types. “Many of these has out leave their functionality however my department is in the process of cataloguing all the tractors in the country irrespective of whether they belong to my department of state or not”, she told parliament.

Vice President Njie-Saidy also told parliament that the expansion of rice production is one of the top priorities of the Department of State for Agriculture in addressing food security as well as rice self sufficiency in the country.

This was in response to a question by the newly elected National Assembly Member for Nianija, Hon. Yaya Whan as to plans by the department to help in solving the problem of good road network to enable the people of his constituency reach swampy farms.