12/17/2025
Joint Statement by EFSCRJ, GALA and TGSB
On the Ministry of Agriculture’s 2025/2026 Groundnut Trade Season Announcement
Issued 17th December 2025!
We, the undersigned civil society organisations, express our deep concern and strong objection to the Government’s announcement setting the 2025/2026 groundnut farm-gate price at D38,000 per metric ton and granting the National Food Security Processing and Marketing Corporation (NFSPMC) exclusive rights as the sole buyer and exporter for the first three months of the season.
Following a review of the Government’s press release from the Ministry of Agriculture on 25th November 2025, we hereby issue this statement:
1. The Government’s Price Setting is Unfair and Anti-Farmer.
For three consecutive years, the Government has imposed the exact price of D38,000 per ton, despite rising cost of living, inflation, soaring input costs, and a globally higher market value of groundnuts. This stagnant price is far below rates offered by private and international buyers within the subregion, and significantly lower than international market prices.
According to the World Bank, the international price of groundnuts is $1,200 per metric tonne in October 2025, which translates to D87,600 per tonne. This means that the Gambia Government’s price is only 43% of the international price in October 2025. Which, in our view, is very unfair to farmers.
Using the World Bank groundnut benchmark and the market exchange rate in late November 2025, 50% of that benchmark converts to roughly D43,500 per tonne. Given typical processing, transport, and export deductions, we judge a fair farm-gate floor to be between D39,000 and D44,000 per metric tonne. Therefore, we call on the Government to open negotiations with farmer associations to reach at least D43,500 per tonne.
By maintaining this artificially low price of D38,000 per tonne, the State is effectively forcing Gambian farmers into continued poverty, contradicting its repeated pronouncements that agriculture is the “backbone of the economy”. This practice disregards the economic realities of smallholder farmers and undermines national food security.
2. The Government Reneged on Its 2023 Commitments to Farmers.
We are concerned that the Government has ignored legitimate concerns and expectations expressed by farmer associations. In 2023, commitments were made to review and increase the producer price. These commitments have now been blatantly abandoned. This failure erodes trust and reinforces the perception that the State does not prioritise the welfare of the very citizens who sustain the agricultural sector.
3. Exclusive Buying Rights Granted to NFSPMC Are Unlawful and Harmful.
We intensely deplore the Cabinet decision granting NFSPMC exclusive rights to purchase and export ground nuts for the first three months of the trade season. This policy:
• violates the principles of free trade and the ECOWAS Protocol on Free movement of Goods and Services amongst member states, thereby undermining competition,
• prevents farmers from accessing better prices from alternative buyers, and
• entrenches a monopolistic system that historically harmed Gambian producers.
In fact, over 100 years ago, Edward Francis Small courageously defended Gambian farmers against similar exploitative practices by colonial authorities and merchant cartels. His struggle led to the formation of farmer cooperatives and later the Gambia Cooperative Union. Today, the Government is tragically repeating the very colonial injustices EF Small fought against.
4. Discourage Farmers from the Sector and Worsen Food Security.
We, the undersigned organisations, are concerned that this decision, which goes against the interests of farmers, will discourage more farmers and citizens from entering the sector, thereby increasing the country’s dependency on food imports and undermining food security. Given the Gambia’s already high import rates, compounded by low export rates, this will undoubtedly affect our trade balance and raise the cost of agricultural products.
Our Demands!
In light of the above, we demand that the Government:
1. Open genuine negotiations with farmer associations to agree on a fair and economically viable price.
2. Rescind the NFSPMC monopoly and restore an open, competitive market that allows farmers to sell to buyers offering better prices.
3. Respect the principles of free trade and farmer autonomy, consistent with the Gambia’s national economic policies and ECOWAS Free Trade protocols.
Signed:
1. Edward Francis Small Centre for Rights and Justice (EFSCRJ)
2. Gambian Against Looted Assets (GALA)
3. Team Gom Sa Bopa (TGSB)
