(JollofNews) – President Yahya Jammeh of The Gambia has hinted the possibility that his Vision 2016 agenda of banning rice imports into the country might be reconsidered due to poor harvest.Speaking on the national television, GRTS, on Monday Jammeh said he is going to change the Vision 2016 only when the rice harvest for the upcoming season is unsatisfactory.
However, he said the ban to import rice into the country would hold if the country produced enough to feed its people, come 31st December 2015.
He said the vision is meant to make The Gambia self-sufficient and free from the bondage of perennial dependency on food imports. He said there is enough land and water for irrigation in The Gambia for the country to produce enough rice for local consumption and export.
Critics have argued that the policy will not be achieve looking at the present trend of rice production in the country and the fact that the country relies heavily on rain-fed agriculture which is becoming increasingly erratic over the years.
Source: APA
