Gambia vegetable garden project

Updates

November 2024: Update Gambia vegetable garden project

After the relaunch in the summer of 2023, many wonderful activities have taken place in the vegetable garden in Kiang Central in The Gambia. Several new type of crops have been successfully grown such as okra, peanut, bell pepper and maize. In addition, good harvests have been achieved with the already known crops such as onions and bitter tomato.

In the first year of our relaunch project, Saikou, the garden manager, managed to set up the desired credit system. With the proceeds from the gardens, the participants were able to repay more than 90% of the microloans, in addition to providing for their own food needs. The money proceeds have been put into a savings account.

With the establishment of the credit system, the kitchen garden has achieved the first step in establishing a business system to become independent of Seed4Farmers' support. As agreed, the financial contribution from Seed4Farmers was reduced the second year and this will be reduced again in the third and final year (season 2025/2026).

February 2024: Continued Gambia vegetable garden project

In the summer of 2023, Saikou, the project's garden manager, approached us to continue supporting KCHGF (Kiang Central Holland Gambia Foundation) after the departure of OOG Foundation.

The cultivation of various crops is improving, increasing yields. However, the overhead costs of the vegetable garden cannot yet be met from the revenues.

Seed4Farmers (S4F) has therefore proposed to set up a credit system like S4F uses in our Malawi project. With this system, all participants can get credit for seed and fertilizer. At the end of the cultivation when the excess yield is sold, the participants can repay the vegetable garden their debt. Eventually, the expenses of Saikou and Eduard, assistant to the manager, will also have to be paid from the garden's surplus proceeds using this credit system.

 A three-year project has been drawn up, with S4F's contribution being reduced annually. Saikou is thus given the opportunity to set up the credit system with our help and introduce it to the participants.

 With the launch of this project, the vegetable garden is back in full swing with new crops and renewed efforts.

June 2023: Completion of the Gambia vegetable garden project

In the spring of 2023, foundation OOG stopped all its activities.

John and Madeleine (board members of foundation OOG) made one more working visit to the garden in The Gambia. Saikou Fadera has now taken over all activities and will no longer receive financial support from the Netherlands. The OOG Foundation website has also been taken down from the Internet.

To conclude the project, Bob and Frans (Seed4Farmers) said goodbye to the board of Stichting OOG in a personal meeting. Everyone felt that the cooperation between the two foundations had gone very well and that great results had been achieved (see the recent pictures of the cabbage yield). Both boards expressed the hope that Saikou and agricultural expert Edward Bas can now manage the garden in Kiang Central completely independently.

For Seed4Farmers, this also means that this project is completed. The vegetable garden project was our second project and we have learned a lot from Foundation OOG and how to manage a project in Africa. The enthusiasm and perseverance of OOG Foundation is in our eyes very important for the success of this project. We would like to thank the board of Foundation OOG, Madeleine, John, Tiny and Frans, once again for the very nice cooperation and the beautiful result that our efforts have produced for the local farmers in Gambia.October 2022: Positive final results Vegetable Garden project in Gambia

The third part of the NARI training concluded in early October 2022. Garden participants are now even better trained to raise crops using botanicals (such as extracts of Neem leaves from the Neem tree) disease-free. The results are very encouraging. There are almost no more diseases and pests in the crops grown and, as a result, the participants no longer need to use chemical plant protection products. The absence of diseases and pests has also greatly improved yields. The increased yield of onions and carrots were thus sold through the local market (see photos).

The NARI training was the last component contributed to by the Seed 4 Farmers Foundation. The project has ended with great results. Also foundation OOG is going to stop financially supporting the project on January 1, 2023.

From next year Saikou (the garden manager) will be paid entirely by the additional revenue from the harvest of the vegetable garden participants. However, the independence of the vegetable garden has pretty much been achieved and that was ultimately our goal when we gave our first contribution in 2019 for the expansion of the vegetable garden with additional solar panels.

September 2022: Start sowing in tunnel greenhouses for winter production of vegetables

In Gambia, the women's team of Madina Angaleh has started sowing in tunnel greenhouses. Here the plants are pre-grown for winter production of vegetables in the farmers' gardens.

December 2020: Continued vegetable garden project in Kiang Central, Gambia

After our first successful project in Gambia (expansion of the vegetable garden with more solar panels and water supply), the OOG Foundation asked us to sponsor a follow-up project.  

Because of the expansion of the vegetable garden more knowledge about cultivation and disease and pest control was necessary for the participants and the management. 

Saikou (the head of the vegetable garden) sought help from NARI, a local organisation in the area of cultivation and crop protection. This institute has been found willing to provide training and advice in 2020/2021. The project will start with an agronomic training for 40 selected participants, who will then train the other participants.  

NARI will also provide advice for the next three growing seasons on the control of diseases and pests occurring in the various crops.  

The results of this follow-up project will increase the self-reliance of the people in this vegetable garden. 

December 2019: Update Project Kiang Central, Gambia

Foundation Seed4Farmers (S4F) came in contact with Foundation OOG more than a year ago. This foundation set up a vegetable garden project in the interior of Gambia and they were looking for money and knowledge to complete the project. S4F could provide this for them and soon a collaboration was established. They immediately visited the vegetable garden in Kiang Central. This helped S4F to understand the local situation and connect with garden manager Saikou and agricultural expert Edward. The first aim of the project was to expand the area of the garden so that more women from the seven local villages could have a place to grow vegetables. Land has been mined by the men of the seven villages and a water system has been set up using water tanks and solar panels. 

This first part of the project went very well and is almost completed (see photos). The next objective is to make the garden independent: this requires a culture change. The income from selling the vegetables must eventually cover the salary costs of the two managers (Saikou and Edward) and the overhead costs. The women therefore have to hand over part of the financial proceeds to the garden's management. Until now, these two men have been paid from the Netherlands by Foundation OOG.  

January 2018: Foundation Oog

Via Foundation Wilde Ganzen we came into contact with Foundation-OOG (Development and Education Gambia). In Gambia, OOG works together with the partner organisation Kiang Central Holland Gambia Foundation "KCHGF". One of the activities of this foundation is to set up a vegetable garden and to assist in its cultivation. 

The existing garden enables about 130 women and their families to eat well and healthily and to send their children to school. The next phase is to make the garden independent, so they can manage their own garden without help from the Netherlands. To make this possible, an extension of the garden is necessary. This will allow 300 instead of 130 people to use the garden. By installing a second water irrigation system, the entire garden will still receive water in the event of a breakdown in one of the systems. Moreover, the overhead costs will be divided among more garden participants. This will increase the chances of successfully continuing the garden independently. 

OOG, together with the garden management, has decided to make one more big investment: an expansion of 4.5 hectares, a fence, solar panels, a second pump, pipes to the water taps and eighteen water reservoirs. All the work that the garden participants can do themselves will be carried out by them. 

Including material costs and training for garden members and leaders, the plan costs €43,491. After the donation by Seed4Farmers, Wilde Ganzen contributed 1/3 of the investment. S4F also wants to see if and how we can contribute to the garden with our agricultural knowledge. During the visit of the OOG Board in January 2019, representatives of S4F will go to Gambia to explore this together with the garden members.