Promoting Agricultural Value Chains
In the OIC Member Countries
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During the same period the Government, being under pressure from international donors,
implemented the Groundnut Sector Revitalization Strategy running from 1999 to 2003. The
Strategy pursued a three-pronged approach: (1) introduction of a producer price
determination mechanism coupled with a price stabilisation fund; (ii) an Agricultural Credit
Programme (ACP) to finance the acquisition of inputs; and (iii) an agronomic component
focusing on the development of high-quality seed varieties, known as the Seed Multiplication
Programme of the National Agriculture Research Institute (NARI).
An Agri-Business Service Plan Association (ASPA) was set up to implement the policy, but
when the programme finished in 2003 the Government stopped financing the ASPA. However,
due to the consequential decline in quality and quantity, the Government called the ASPA into
life again in 2010 and continued the guaranteed price mechanism. A WTO trade policy
document critically mentions: The quoting of a single undifferentiated reference price for
unshelled groundnuts means that producers of lower quality groundnuts reap some of the
reward from increases in production of higher quality groundnuts. The fact that the threshold
price is set to cover costs does not in itself act as incentive to farmers and industrial operators
to reduce costs and increase efficiency (WTO, 2014). In 2014, the Government once again
stopped funding the ASPA and left the price setting to GGC, leading to low prices, uninformed
farmers and increasing smuggling to Senegal.
The current organisation of the groundnut sector, and the Government's policy towards it, falls
under the Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan, launched in 2010, and the National
Export Strategy, adopted in 2012.
The Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan (GNAIP) (2011-2015) aims at raising the
productivity of the agricultural sector through commercialisation and private sector
investments, aimed at food security and poverty reduction. Value chain development is one of
the core programmes of the GNAIP, among which groundnuts are identified as key crop.
According to the Government, the expected outcome is improved management of groundnut
chains (oil and confectionery) and quality assurance of products to meet international
standards and increase exports. Yields are targeted to increase from 0.97 mt/ha (2009) to 1.2
mt/ha (2015) (GoG, 2010). Under the GNAIP programme, various development partners, such
as the EU, African Development Bank and FAO, provide infrastructural support to the sector.
The National Export Strategy (NES) (2013-2017) is complementary to the GNAIP and focuses
on promoting export-led economic growth and enhancing the country’s competitiveness.
Agriculture is an important pillar of the NES with horticulture, cashew nuts, and groundnuts as
the focus value chains.
5.4.2 Standards
The groundnut value chain in the Gambia suffers from a lack of standards and quality control,
apart from a general classification system that groups groundnut production as either
‘handpicked selected’ nuts (HPS) (bearing a relatively high value as they are used directly for
consumption or to serve the confectionary market), and the ‘fair and average quality’ nuts
(FAQ) (used primarily for the production of groundnut oil and groundnut cake).
The major problem in the Gambia is the high level of aflatoxin of groundnuts, which is a human
carcinogen produced by mould that grows on crops stored in warm and humid conditions.
Domestically, aflatoxin is a major concern because groundnut products are the most important
source of proteins and fats for the poorest segments of the population (International Trade