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Screensize: 640 x 480 800 x 600 1024 x 768 1280 x 1024 UserName: Password: Format Mode: Basic  Help  Prompt  Format: Videos: Font Andale Mono Arial Arial Black Book Antiqua Century Gothic Comic Sans MS Courier New Georgia Impact Lucida Console Script MT Bold Stencil Tahoma Times New Roman Trebuchet MS Verdana   Size 1 2 3 4 5 6   Color Black Red Yellow Pink Green Orange Purple Blue Beige Brown Teal Navy Maroon LimeGreen Message: * HTML is OFF * Forum Code is ON Smilies [quote][i]Originally posted by Momodou[/i] [br]GREATER RICE IMPORTATION IS FAILURE PRESENTED AS ACHIEVEMENT By Ousman Gajigo The Ministry of Trade, Industry, Regional Integration and Employment recently announced an agreement it signed with Pakistan for the supply of rice and other agricultural products. This announcement was presented as an achievement. In reality, it is a major sign of failure. It takes a certain level of incompetence to mistake failure for achievement. The average Gambian today endures a high cost of living, due mostly to the rising cost of basic goods such as food items. Most of these food items are imported. In addition to food, the country imports most of its consumer goods. Indeed, over the past decade, imports have accounted for about 80% of the country's total trade with the rest of the world. This high level of imports has serious implications beyond mere numbers - it directly affects the cost of living for every Gambian household. When imports greatly and persistently exceed exports, the currency continuously depreciates. Given that most consumer goods are imported, our already high inflation continues to worsen. For goods we cannot produce locally, the country has no choice but to import. But that is not the case for a product like rice. Rice is our staple, consumed by every household. Furthermore, we have the land and agro-climatic conditions to cultivate it. Achieving self-sufficiency in rice is therefore an achievable goal and a cornerstone of food security. Continuing to depend on imported rice exposes the country to risks beyond the inflation already mentioned. Many of the countries we depend on for rice imports face their own natural and man-made risks, including climate-related shocks and socio-economic disruptions. When these unexpected shocks occur in rice-exporting countries, ours ends up suffering because of our exposure to events well beyond our control. But this exposure is not inevitable - it stems from deliberate choices made by leaders who either do not care to solve the problem or are incapable of doing so due to incompetence. Growing rice locally, rather than importing it, creates economic opportunities for Gambian workers, particularly youth. Agriculture is labor-intensive, meaning it generates significant employment. Milling rice is a necessary agro-processing activity that creates industrial jobs and produces by-products essential to other sub-sectors of the economy. In other words, local rice cultivation would contribute not only to food security but also to economic diversification and transformation. Achieving rice self-sufficiency is both achievable and desirable - a feasible goal within a single term of any competent administration. There is no excuse for continued rice importation. The Adama Barrow administration has now been in power for ten years. During this time, we have continued to import 90% of all the rice we consume. In other words, the administration has made zero progress toward rice cultivation specifically, or food security for the average Gambian more broadly. In this context, announcing yet another major round of rice imports from Asia is nothing but an admission of failure. [/quote]   Check here to include your profile signature.