Crab Island gardeners welcome Deputy Mayor Touray’sgarden initiatives
The women gardeners of Crab Island Ward, Banjul North have welcomedwith appreciations to the gardening initiative and rehabiltation project aimed to help them in the yvegetable production for self sustainability.
The garden which is under the three years Europen Union 3M Euros funded project for the Banjul-Oostende link for the rehabilitaion of the old Crab Island school to a multipurpose center also covers half a hectare vegetable garden of about 50 meters by 95 meters, which after demacation had about 255 beds of 2meters by 5meters where each woman will occupy 10 beds for production.
The first phase of the project covers 25 women beneficiaries out of 55 women within the community who are currently on standby.The garden is been cordinated and controlled by the City Council. An office for the gardeners is also under rehabilitation at the Crab Island premises.
Speaking at thehanding over, Bintou Ceesy, one of the beneficiaries thanked the Deputy Mayor Omar B.J. Touray who doubles as the UDP Councilor for the Crab Island Ward, for his project initiative, concern and stands for women of Banjul, noting that she was not part of the gardeners before the Covic pandemic, but noted that the women used to encounter so much challenges of stagnant water especially during the rainy season.
She noted that years back, gardeners would face so much challenge of water sortages, but commended the Deputy Mayor for the provision of the borehole to ensure the provision of sufficient water supply for the gardeners.
She stated that years back, some women could not partake in the vegetable production at the Crab Island due to water sortage, but noting that it is now in the past.
For her part, Nyima Touray narated that they used to face so much hardship due to water sortages in the past, but that with the availabilityof the borehole, this will certainly ease their pain in fight for water.
She said all beneficiaries to faithfully accept any portion alocated to them within the garden and avoid selection of a particular area which could cause a lot of chaos.
She thanked the Ward Councilor for the intervention which she said is a great move for the women of Crab Island Ward.
Bakary Jarju, the garden manager who is an agricultural expart said with the help of the Deputy Mayor who initiated the garden, he said the Ward Councilor worked very hard to ensure that the vegetable garden is been handed over to the Crab Island women.
“We want to have a tractor come and plough the soil and we have all beds raised because we have a problem of water log,” he said.
