Written by: Mama A. Touray
The Minister of Trade, Regional Integration, and Employment, Babucarr O. Joof, in his oral submission before the National Assembly on why the price of domestically produced rice remains higher than imported rice, stated that The Gambia’s current input is not sufficient to reduce the price of local rice to match that of imported varieties.
Responding to the Member for Jarra East Constituency on the rice price issue, Hon. Joof said: “The subsidies we are providing are not adequate enough to bring the cost of inputs in the production of rice to a level that will enable the farmers to sell at a lower price than the rice we are importing.”
Joof added that it is a government priority to attain food self-sufficiency in rice production. “This is pursued through the efforts of the Ministry of Agriculture to support smallholder farmers in rice production throughout the country, and through the Ministry of Trade, Regional Integration, and Employment by promoting private sector investment in agriculture, particularly rice production,” he explained.
These efforts, he said, are aimed at achieving the government’s broader objective of promoting domestic production to reduce dependence on imports—particularly for basic commodities such as rice.
Joof also informed the Assembly that “rice production continues to be heavily subsidised by the government through the Ministry of Agriculture. These subsidies come in the form of land preparation, provision of equipment, and inputs such as quality seeds, fertiliser, and fuel. The purpose is to give local rice farmers a cost advantage over imported rice. However, the support is still not sufficient enough to give them a price advantage.”
He added that, given local rice production currently accounts for just over 10% of national import requirements, “the government is trying to scale up domestic rice production through private sector investment. It is envisaged that, with increasing large-scale investment, the cost per unit of rice will drop due to economies of scale once high-level local production is achieved.”
Joof continued: “Government may consider introducing other measures such as tariffs on imported rice to promote and sustain investment in domestic rice production. However, such a measure cannot be applied at this time, as it would increase the price of rice in domestic markets.”
“We encourage investments in agriculture, and we support and provide incentives to attract investors into the sector. We have been making a lot of progress recently, but detailed input-related matters remain at the level of the Ministry of Agriculture,” he concluded.
