[{"bbox": [97, 91, 1133, 357], "category": "Text", "text": "International regulations are stiffening and certification requirements are becoming more and more stringent. For The Gambia to capture a higher share of the international addressable market for horticulture, the country will need a robust quality management system. This could be also linked to international certifications that can add value to the production, namely organic certification, fair trade and the EU zero deforestation regulation. There is high opportunity to establish such a system, with testing labs focused on exported crops. It could either be a public organization or private-led (to capitalize on existing investments) with government support, such as tax incentives or technical expertise to conduct specific analyses. As parallel initiatives are being launched in The Gambia (such as the National Seed Secretariat that has the mandate to certify seeds, and the Indian government support for the certification of ECOWAS - Economic Community of West African States - exports), further partnership opportunities could be explored as well."}, {"bbox": [97, 383, 1133, 701], "category": "Text", "text": "There is a lack of financial and human resources to monitor diseases and pests and to carry out effective inspections and controls. As regards the non-compliance with SPS standards, the most recurrent problems include the presence of harmful organisms, non-compliance with maximum residue levels (MRLs) for pesticides, and the lack of adequate procedures. There is a major market barrier because of non-adapted regulatory requirements since the standards and regulations of the target markets (local, regional, international) are largely not adapted to the context of the Gambian agri-food sector, which has a negative impact on the most vulnerable operators. As an example, Gambian farmers are particularly affected by the aflatoxin content in the groundnut value chain, which prevents its access to the EU market. There is also a lack of effective coordination between private and public partners in the Gambian agri-food sector at national and regional levels. Many of the current agronomic practices are unsustainable in terms of waste, use water, energy, biodiversity and greenhouse gas emissions. There is not only a limited access to affordable quality inputs but also a low uptake of new technologies. A poor level of skills and research on sustainable production methods is currently prevalent in The Gambia's horticulture sector."}, {"bbox": [97, 728, 1133, 910], "category": "Text", "text": "The Gambia's soil is fertile enough to produce good yields without the application of chemical fertilizers. This is also true for fruit trees such as mangoes, which do not require many inputs once the trees are established. There is an opportunity to develop a Gambian organic brand, along with the adequate standards, to feed hotels in the short term (thus benefitting from the growing desire for organic produce among tourists). This initiative would build on an existing \"organic\" culture among farmers, drawn from limited access to imported inputs, and governmental support in using bio-fertilizers. The development of an international hub for organic products could also be envisioned."}, {"bbox": [97, 939, 705, 965], "category": "Section-header", "text": "## Problem 4: Lack of irrigation facilities for horticultural production"}, {"bbox": [97, 992, 1133, 1178], "category": "Text", "text": "The Gambia has abundant underground water resources and the Gambia River reaches most of the country's agriculture areas, however there is an increasing problem of salinisation and many Community Vegetable Gardens have drying boreholes. This natural asset, if adequately leveraged, would allow the country to increase productivity significantly and if the potential of the river Gambia is tapped, this would allow for the spread of horticultural production throughout the year and in all parts of the country. However, this \"extension\" must be decoupled from the expansion of areas (meaning deforestation), but rather on increased productivity - thanks to irrigation, improved techniques, CSA, agro-ecology, etc."}, {"bbox": [97, 1205, 1133, 1337], "category": "Text", "text": "Major sources of water for vegetable production in the region are rivers, wells, and boreholes. The soil type of the region is sandy loamy. There is an opportunity to develop water storage infrastructure in the Eastern part of the country, where groundwater reserves are less abundant. Such storage would allow rainwater to be preserved for further usage. In the Western part, the provision of irrigation systems and training on their usage and maintenance would support an increase in production."}, {"bbox": [97, 1363, 1133, 1496], "category": "Text", "text": "The Gambian climate is well-suited for the production of horticultural crops. There are two distinct seasons: a short wet season, from June until September, when temperatures and humidity are quite high; and a long dry season the rest of the year. From November until March, the dry season is cool and especially suitable for the production of a wide variety of vegetables. The most critical environmental factor affecting horticultural production is the shortage of water. Fruit and vegetable production is largely rain-fed and suffers the brunt of climate change."}, {"bbox": [97, 1522, 1133, 1654], "category": "Text", "text": "Since horticultural production is confined largely to the dry season, good production is only possible with reliable irrigation but most farmers do not have access to irrigation systems and many depend on waterlogged areas to produce vegetables or on relatively shallow, hand-dug wells. Sites are often located in low-lying areas where the water table is near the surface and borehole drill with reservoir displayed in all four corners of the garden. Some assisted gardens also have deeper, concrete-lined wells. In both cases, however, irrigation/watering is done by"}, {"bbox": [1038, 1682, 1143, 1706], "category": "Page-footer", "text": "Page 8 of 30"}]