Promoting Agricultural Value Chains:
In the OIC Member Countries
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However, due to a variety of challenges the Gambia is not in a position to meets its potential
for groundnut production, processing and exporting.
At the production level, yields per ha are low and have even declined over the past decade.
This is largely related to the use of traditional farming methods with little mechanisation, low-
yielding seed varieties and lack of access to inputs. Unreliable rain patterns and pest and
disease incidences also make groundnut production subject to significant fluctuations.
As most of the groundnuts are produced for domestic consumption and traded through the
informal market where no quality standards or quality control exist, the quality of groundnuts
is often poor. Incentives to improve quality do not exist. This aggravates any attempts to
export groundnuts, as they do not conform to international quality standards. Particular
problems are noted with regard to high levels of aflatoxin. This makes it difficult for the
Gambia to take advantage of the export opportunities offered by favourable market access
policies of the EU, the USA, India, Brazil and South Korea which all have zero or preferential
duty rates for products from Least Developed Countries, such as the Gambia.
The above noted challenges also obstruct the development of a domestic processing industry
for export purposes. While significant opportunities exist to process groundnuts and thereby
increase the value added before exporting, very little processing is currently done in the
Gambia. This also has to do with a generally unsupportive business environment: most private
companies have left the groundnut sector due to a reportedly disruptive operative context.