By Biran Gaye
With the prices of rice fluctuating and becoming less affordable in The Gambia, farmers in Sabach Sanjal District are increasingly embracing upland rice cultivation, turning farms into rice fields to feed their families.
During a visit to Misira Mbayen, Pallen Wollof and Ngayen Sanjal last weekend, this reporter saw large rice farms cultivated by the locals, who had always concentrated on other cash crops like groundnut.
Unlike past decades when rice cultivation was only relegated to swampy areas, several farmers have started growing rice in upland areas every crop season, with almost every compound cultivating a rice farm, particularly in Misira Mbayen.
For Fafa Mbye of Misira Mbayen, cultivating rice is a necessity to feed his growing extended family. He is one of the first farmers to cultivate rice on upland fields in recent years in the village.
This year, Mbye cultivated rice on half a hectare of land, which he said is steadily progressing to maturity.
“I used to sell groundnuts sometimes on credit to buy rice for my family’s feeding,” he recalls, stressing that the situation propelled him and the villagers to search for alternatives to earn an affordable living.
Fafa reflected on the myths associated with upland rice farming in the beginning, saying several villagers talked him out of the idea, but he was determined to see how the farm would fare.
“I registered a high yield when I first grew rice, and that convinced me to be cultivating it every year now,” Mbye told Foroyaa. “From that moment, I knew it was a major breakthrough that could influence many farmers in my village.”
Speaking further, Mbye alleged that private businesses exploit farmers during trading seasons by exchanging their farm produce, particularly groundnut, with bags of rice at a disproportionate rate.
“Given that the trading points “seccos” normally buy groundnut on credit when cash elapses, some farmers who run out of feeding would desperately offer their produce to businessmen,” he complained.
With my rice produce, Mbye stressed that he is no longer pressured to sell to middlemen at cutthroat prices only to buy rice when seccos lack cash.
“I normally feed on my cultivated rice during the groundnut trading season, and that helps to keep my groundnut produce until the seccos have money to buy with cash,” he said.
Addressing this year’s cultivation, he expressed optimism about getting high yields, as the rice continues to form flowers and mature grains.
This reporter observed that the rice field is greenish and growing speedily.
Fafa’s success inspires his neighbour Omar Mbye and other villagers.
Omar Mbye, who has been inspired by Fafa’s success, said their rice farms are saving them from spending their fortune to buy rice all the time, adding that “we have not been buying rice the way we used to do when we had not commenced upland rice cultivation in recent years”.
He noted that the myth that rice does not flourish on upland areas made him sceptical in the beginning but said successes registered by earlier producers, including Fafa, motivated him to cultivate rice.
Speaking on the progress of his rice field this year, he expressed slight optimism about registering high productivity due to inconsistent rains at a crucial stage of the rice crops.
“My rice crop started flowering, which requires adequate rainfall for its grains to grow to maturity,” he stated. “If rains do not continue to come, I would register a poor harvest as most of the crops do not even complete flowering.”
He said he has applied both fertiliser and urea on the rice field, with the crops steadily growing since it was weeded.
Mbye called for more farm machinery support, particularly rice threshers and harvesters, for farmers to ease their post-planting activities.
“I want the government to prioritise rice cultivation both on land and on water by providing farm machinery and capital to increase production,” he told Foroyaa.
At Pallen Wollof, Kebba Drammeh is setting a precedent in rice cultivation on land. According to Drammeh, he had eight bags of unthreshed rice from his farm last year.
“My family ate it for months before it finished,” he said. “I will always cultivate rice from now on, because, as the head of an extended family, I cannot be buying rice and fulfilling basic family needs. I had to look for an alternative.”
However, Drammeh noted that he has not cultivated rice this year as the farm he had reserved for the rice was abruptly taken by the owner, ruining his planting plans at a time he had already cultivated other crops on his farms.
He also called for support for quality rice seeds for farmers to improve productivity.
Ousman Mbye, a rice farmer at Ngayen Sanjal, said his rice field does not look encouraging as the crops struggle to grow speedily, largely attributed to limited rains.
This reporter observed that most of the rice crops have yet to produce flowers and grains, with the top end of some rice plants seemingly eaten by insects and other pests.
Though, Mbye acknowledged he sprayed herbicides to tame the weed around the crops – a practice that threatens the life of soil microorganism in the long run.
“We need more rain to have a good yield,” Mbye said. “This week, we had two good rains and long may it continue.”
He said he fears that the dry spell could impact the crop’s flowering stage and its yield.
During the visit, this reporter bumped into a promising rice farm owned by Katim Gaye.
His rice field is well ahead of other farms, including Ousman’s, transitioning from flowering to grain.
As the rains wind down, rice farmers hope continued downpour in October could see them register good yield, paving the way for more farmers in the district to embrace upland rice cultivation for affordable living and livelihood.