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toubab1020
12311 Posts |
 Posted - 13 Oct 2011 : 12:34:36
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http://dailynews.gm/africa/gambia/article/rice-price-may-rise
Snippet;
Rice Price May Rise
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
 The price of Gambia’s staple food may skyrocket from now towards the end of the year, if news from Thailand, world largest rice exporter, is anything to go by.
Thailand has announced its intention to pay its rice-growers far above market rates and this is expected to push up prices for the food that the entire Gambia depends on and it is said to feed almost half of the world’s people.
The Gambia imports most of her food requirements, particularly rice, and produces not more than 30% of its rice requirement.
This makes the country very vulnerable to rise in prices and reduction in supplies from the international market as the country depends heavily on importation.
The price of imported rice has quadrupled since 2002; and it continues to rise by the day.
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"Simple is good" & I strongly dislike politics. You cannot defend the indefensible.
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Momodou
Denmark
11723 Posts |
Posted - 13 Oct 2011 : 13:17:54
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Another Increase in the Price of Rice
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Forget for now, the said 5.6 percent economic growths; for the reality is that, even if the growth of our economy is matching up with that of the so-called Asian Tigers, its impact on the lives and livelihoods of ordinary Gambians seems to be very insignificant.
Undoubtedly, one of the major causes of Gambia’s apparent economic woes is its over dependence on import whilst exporting almost nothing.
Since independence, this problem has been figured out outright. The former regime was prompted to introduce “Tesito,”, which became a catchphrase in former president’s call for Gambians to henceforth work harder with emphasis on agriculture, which not only employed a larger share of the populace, but had the potential to balance the country’s import with export.
When Jawara told Gambians, farmers in particular that independence does not necessarily means that their groundnuts would be transformed into diamonds, he went further to put to them that independence requires more sacrifice and hard work on the part of the sovereign citizens inorder to be able to sustain their sovereignty.
This approach has no difference with that of the incumbent president Yahya Jammeh’s clarion call for Gambian to go back to the land with himself at the forefront of tilling the soil to make a living.
To a degree of satisfaction, both calls have been answered to the best of the people’s ability, yet the country remains ever highly dependent on products from other countries to feed, cloth and even shelter her people.
Why then do we continue to depend on import to the extent that the problem in Thailand will have a biting effect on Gambia?
The Daily News invites debate on the issue and anyone who wishes to contribute can send their contributions via email: dailynews.34@yahoo.com or drop a sealed letter at our office at 65 Kombo Sillah Drive, Churchill’s Town, Serrekunda. Contributors should indicate their names and address.
While we await your debate on this issue, it is this paper’s conviction that both the former and the current regime have not given the deserved priority to agriculture, despite their declarations of lofty political intensions.
It is however not our intention to preempt the debate. Just be reminded that sharing of information on this topic is crucial now that we are expecting another increase in the price of rice when the crops are being harvested.
Source: Daily News |
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