The United Democratic Party (UDP) has issued a scathing rebuke of President Adama Barrow’s administration over its handling of the groundnut trade and the delayed payments to Gambian farmers.
In a strongly worded statement released this week, the opposition party accused the government of exploiting rural farmers through monopolistic control and broken promises.
At the heart of the UDP’s criticism is the National Food Security Processing and Marketing Corporation (NFSPMC), a government-run entity established as the sole buyer of groundnuts from local producers. According to the UDP, this arrangement amounts to an unconstitutional monopoly that deprives farmers of market freedom and fair pricing.
“This government has chained farmers to a broken system,” the statement reads. “While inflation rises and costs go up, the Barrow administration is forcing farmers to sell at last year’s prices and then leaving them unpaid for months.”
The UDP paints a grim picture of rural life in 2025, with farmers still waiting for payment as the rainy season approaches and the Muslim festival of Tobaski looms. The party argues that while civil servants and government officials have received salary increases, the country’s farmers—“the true heroes who feed our nation”—have been left out in the cold.
“This is not policy—it is robbery,” the UDP charged, calling the government’s approach a mix of “economic theft,” “state monopoly,” and “empty promises.”
A Widening Rural Frustration
While the UDP’s rhetoric may be partisan, it taps into a growing sense of frustration in farming communities across The Gambia. For many, the promise of the NFSPMC was to bring order and stability to the marketing of groundnuts—a key cash crop for the country. But critics say the system has become opaque and inefficient, with farmers bearing the brunt of its dysfunction.
Private buyers have been sidelined under the current setup, limiting farmers’ options and leaving them vulnerable to pricing decisions made far from the fields they work. The UDP has now joined the chorus of voices calling for a return to a more open market, where producers can negotiate directly with buyers for the best price.
The party is demanding three things from the government: the immediate payment of all outstanding dues to farmers, an end to price manipulation, and the reintroduction of private sector competition into the groundnut trade.
Government Yet to Respond
As of the time of writing, there has been no official response from the Barrow administration regarding the UDP’s statement or the payment delays. However, senior officials have in the past defended the NFSPMC as a necessary mechanism to ensure quality control and protect national food security.
Still, with Tobaski approaching and tensions rising in farming regions, the pressure is mounting on the government to provide answers—and more importantly, payments.
The UDP’s statement ends with a stark warning: “If they cannot manage the groundnut sector, they have no right to control it while farmers suffer.”
For many rural families waiting on payments to prepare for the planting season and the religious holiday, that sentiment is likely to resonate.
