Effect of Rice Value Chain Programme on Rice Production in the Gambia

Abstract

This study on the effects of rice value chain programme on rice farmers’ production was conducted in the Central River Region of the Gambia. The objective of the study seeks the effect of the rice value chain programme on rice farmers’ production in Central River Region of The Gambia. The instruments used for data collection was Focus Group Discussion and In-Depth Interview. The study selected two (2) of the districts from Kuntaur Local Government Area and three (3) from Janjanbureh Local Government Area using purposive sampling technique after which simple random sampling technique was used to select sixteen (16) villages out of which three hundred and eighty-four (384) farmers were randomly selected for the study. The data collected was transcribed for all the focus group and interview comments, the comments were rearranged to have answers which were grouped together for each interview protocol. The findings revealed that, farmers benefitted from the rice value chain programme through interventions such as; available improved seed varieties and fertilizer which have improved rice production. However, challenges still exist in the form of insufficient fertilizer, seeds and market structures. From these findings, it is recommended that Non-Governmental Organizations and investors should supplement government efforts by providing sufficient and quality inputs (seed/fertilizer/machinery) and credit facilities to the rice farmers at a subsidized rate and on time and strengthen the linkages between farmer groups/cooperatives with buyers (Producer-Buyer linkage) for easy market access.