The Africa Emergency Locust Project (AELP) Gambia Office in its stride to control locust in the country recently concluded a five-day intensive training for Regional Quality Control Teams (QUEST), at the Agricultural Rural Farming Training Centre in Jenoi, Lower River Region.

The training which gathered 12 participants from the National Agricultural Development Agency (NADA), Agricultural Pest Management Unit, Department of State for Health (DoSH), National Environment Agency (NEA) and the Department of State for Water Resources, aims to capacitise regional quest teams to be fully equipped with the necessary requirements.

Declaring the training opened, Alhagie Momodou Soma Jobe, Governor of Lower River Region, on behalf of the people of the region, welcomed the trainers and trainees to the seminar. He registered his personal appreciation to the Department of State for Agriculture, through the AELP project for choosing Jenoi as their training centre.

He further implored the participants to take the training seriously as, according to him, locust control is another step in eradicating poverty.  He also encouraged the participants to take note of the effects of the chemicals being used during locust control operations, saying “this can be detrimental to the lives of human beings and animals.

He added that controlling locust by the use of the required pesticides without proper care can also be detrimental to the lives of human beings, animals and the environment.

“Therefore, the up-keep of all these possibilities and dangers during locust control should be well understood by all, more particularly you the Quest Team members. So, if the information is filtered as expected, we will overcome the obstacles of any invasion in this country”, he noted.

Governor Jobe then expressed hope that at the end of the training, participants will gather the required information and then urged them to disseminate the knowledge at all levels.  He further acknowledged the efforts of the AELP for their positive strides in ensuring that The Gambia is locust-free.

For his part, Sheikh Tijan Sosseh, acting Project Coordinator of the Africa Emergency Locust Project (AELP) Gambia Office, gave a brief overview of the project.  He reminded participants that the AELP is a sub-regional project, funded by the World Bank and The Gambia government, with the global objective of controlling locusts and mitigating its effects on human, animals and the environment, in a bid to enhance food security and alleviate poverty.

“The project has four components namely: Emergency Locust Control and Management, Early Warning and Response, Emergency Agricultural Investment and Project Management,” he said.

He then elaborated on the policies of the World Bank and its context in locust control to prevent any possible penetration of the chemical to human health, animals and the environment. “The safeguard policies of the World Bank indicate that, locust control should be carried out within a context that human health, animals and the environment is protected by minimising the risks and impact of pesticides.  It is in this regard that the Quest teams were introduced by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), to ensure the quality of locust control campaigns. The project has already established the National Quest Teams. Therefore, our gathering here today is to establish and train the regional Quest Teams to complement the efforts of the national team to ensure compliance with the safeguard polices of the World Bank in controlling the locust as hazardous pesticides are used” he highlighted.

Mr Sosseh then cleared out the role of the Quest teams in the country, noting that they are purposely to monitor the health of pesticide operators, conduct environment impact assessment, ensure proper calibration of the control equipment and conduct training for Regional Locust Teams, among others. 

He added that these Quest teams across the country, comprises various stakeholder, led by National Environment Agency (NEA).

The AELP boss then quickly saluted President Yahya Jammeh, the Gambian leader for taking the lead role in locust control in the sub-region and his magnificent efforts in the 2004/2005-locust upsurge, which resulted in the inception of the Africa Emergency Locust Project in The Gambia.

He further commended the Secretary of State for Agriculture and staff and the World Bank Liaison Officer for the timely rescue of the project.  Mr Sosseh then highlighted the achievements of the present management of the project, saying “the present management of the project were able to achieve a lot within a short period of time.”

He further assured Gambians, particularly the farmers that the sky is the limit in achieving the objectives of the project as envisaged by President Yahya Jammeh and the Department of State for Agriculture.

Mr Sosseh then acknowledged the cooperation of the various institutions represented at the training and then urged the participants to make the best use of the training as expected of them in the fields whenever the need arises.

Kekoi Kuyateh, Deputy Permanent Secretary, Department of State for Agriculture also confirmed that the training of the Regional Quest Teams will greatly compliment the efforts of the National Quest teams in their endeavours monitoring the health of the pesticide operators, conduct environment impact assessments as well as to ensure proper calibration of the control equipment to achieve the objectives of the project.

According to the DoSA Deputy Permanent Secretary, the training will further help the teams digest as expected of them.  “This training will help you to perform your duties as expected as during the course of the activities, you will share ideas in various disciplines in locust control.  He further reminded the trainees of the components of the AELP project and urged them to strive hard to overcome any obstacle whenever the need arise.

DPS Kuyateh then recognised the common bond of understanding and unity that exists between the AELP project and other departments.

He then implored the trainees to take the training seriously and disseminate the knowledge gained from the training at different levels.

Sessions and field practical

During the training proper, Sheikh Tijan Sosseh, acting Project Coordinator of the Africa Emergency Locust Control Project in The Gambia elaborated on the need for Quest teams in the country. 

In his introduction, Mr Sosseh advised trainees that as Quest team members, they should work under one umbrella, support each other and complement each other’s efforts. He urged them to always define the objectives of their works, covering people who are directly and indirectly involved in the dangers of pesticides, such as distributors, sellers, application teams, pesticide store keepers, the local population, amongst others.

He also advised participants not to impose sanctions, prosecute or punish people, but to be maintained by operating independently.

Saikou Jammeh of the Agricultural Pest Management (APMU), who doubles as the locust team leader for Central River Region exposed participants to different classifications of locust. 

He further went on to introduce them to the polymorphism phase of the locust, the difference between locust and grasshoppers, noting that locust are grasshoppers with gregarious species. Mr Jammeh then lectured the participants on calibration, among other necessary stages in locust control.

On the second day of the training, trainees received first hand information on the importance of Personal Protective Gears (PPG), presented by Mr Lang Kinteh, Divisional Agricultural Coordinator for Lower River Region.

Mr Sheikh Tijan Sooseh, then introduced trainees to Global Positioning System (GPS), covering a wide range of the GPS. He then exposed the trainees on the operation, usefulness and sensitivity of the GPS, more particularly during locust invasion.

During the afternoon of the same day, participants conducted a field exercise on the use of Global Positioning System ((GPS) to showcase their talents on the GPS. 

On the third day of the session, Suwandou Badjie, a Medical and Health Officer at the Department of State for Health, exposed trainees to different health stages, by brainstorming on pesticide poisoning, safety, among others.

The trainees also conducted a field trip to collect their traps, while pests trapped during the process were named, grouped and accordingly ordered.

AFRIMED’s Harouna Jallow gave the participants a wider background on cholinesterase.

At the end of the training, participants were given topics to discuss on group works, before they were officially certified for successfully completing a five-day Quest Training and becoming Regional Quest members.