[{"bbox": [97, 91, 1134, 304], "category": "Text", "text": "the country where primarily women's collectives and young peopleare actively pursuing opportunities to earn cash\nincomes through horticulture production. However, linking seasonal horticulture production to market has proven\nchallenging. In order to improve access to markets, there is a need to support a transition from a \"production-led\nmarketing to a market-led production\" among small-scale farmers by demonstrating to them the commercial\npotential of horticulture. A dedicated marketing organization or farmers association or cooperatives could be\ncreated to help farmers plan their production based on market demand, and connect them to large local buyers\n(such as hotels and schools), processors, and export contractors. This initiative could build on the experience of a\nformer organization (\"Gambia is Good.\")"}, {"bbox": [97, 328, 907, 357], "category": "Section-header", "text": "## Problem 2: Lack of investment in the post-harvest segments of horticultural value chains"}, {"bbox": [97, 382, 1134, 595], "category": "Text", "text": "Demand for fruits and vegetables are very high in the Gambia, yet farmers are unable to meet this demand. Scarcity does occur and the motive behind it is that vegetable farmers are not active during the rainy season. Market access for horticultural products is an issue, as fruits and vegetables are perishable. Farmers need to have a ready market or standard cool stores for storage of the harvested products which is inadequate in the Gambia. Value-added horticulture products and the processing of fruits and vegetables into finished products would help to increase the shelf-life of the products and the market prices as well. Farmers often face high costs for storage even more for cooling. The transition to the use of renewable energy solutions should be supported, both from an environmental and an economic point of view."}, {"bbox": [97, 620, 1134, 938], "category": "Text", "text": "Horticultural farmers use available local materials for packaging such as bamboo baskets, plastic containers, and recycled bags to package their harvested products. The cooling process is conducted either in the garden or at home before packaging, cooling immediately after harvest will remove the heat. Storage is done at home using locally available stores which are not up to standard for storing fruits and vegetables and that leads to a lot of losses. Solar drying systems can also be an alternative or additional solution. Processing of horticultural products in the Gambia is done on a small-scale, hence there are no processing plants for farmers to process on large scale. They use the available local materials to process on small scale. The lack of basic financial planning skills on the part of MSMEs in horticulture limits their financial management capacity and their ability to submit good quality loan request files. From the local banks' perspective, horticulture appears to be too risky, returns are not attractive, and the typical beneficiary would not meet their profile requirements. Promoting the development of green financing instruments with ESG (Environmental, social, and governance) standards for commercial/smallholder farmers will be considered."}, {"bbox": [97, 991, 1134, 1045], "category": "Section-header", "text": "## Problem 3: Lack of compliance with food safety and food quality standards (Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures - SPS)"}, {"bbox": [97, 1071, 1134, 1205], "category": "Text", "text": "In recent years, the horticulture subsector has seen the most commercial investment, in particular for export of high-value products like fresh mangoes, baby corn and chili peppers. There are great prospects in horticulture export markets, with a projected growth of USD 17 million from 2019 to 2025. However, the agri-food export market is constrained by inadequate compliance with SPS requirements, and a failure to meet standards and technical requirements in EU markets."}, {"bbox": [97, 1230, 1134, 1312], "category": "Text", "text": "The Gambia has not taken full advantage of its export opportunities due to its inability to alleviate critical supply-side constraints owing to non-compliance with necessary SPS requirements and technical barriers to trade agreements, market information gaps, and failure to meet food safety standards."}, {"bbox": [97, 1337, 1134, 1630], "category": "Text", "text": "There is much work to be undertaken to strengthen the capacity of the Food Safety and Quality Authority (FSQA) to enable the authority to provide adequate food chain safety programs. This is crucial for the protection of public health and the expansion of much needed trade. Presently, The Gambia is not in the position to meet its obligations and accrue the benefits associated with the WTO (World Trade Organisation) Agreement on the Application of SPS Measures and the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade due to deficiencies in its food safety and quality capacity. To address these challenges, significant investments are essential. Such investments will support the development of facilities and systems necessary for compliance with SPS measures, thereby enhancing The Gambia's ability to meet international standards. There is a need to support Gambia's initial efforts to improve the national food chain safety control system based on international standards, guidelines, and recommendations, and to establish functional scientific assessment and risk management capabilities to enable The Gambia to expand its export potential and protect public health."}, {"bbox": [1037, 1681, 1144, 1707], "category": "Page-footer", "text": "Page 7 of 30"}]