Gambiaj.com – (NDUNGU KEBBEH, The Gambia) – Women vegetable growers in Lower Niumi have invested D1.35 million towards the construction of a 60-metric-tonne cold storage facility at Ndungu Kebbeh, in an effort to reduce post-harvest losses and give farmers greater flexibility in accessing better markets.
The facility, being constructed under the Resilience of Organizations for Transformative Smallholder Agriculture (ROOTS) Project, is expected to serve the Solicita Marketing Federation, which brings together 67 registered groups with more than 15,000 members.
President Adama Barrow inspected the facility during his 2026 Meet the People Tour.
The cold store is one of six facilities being constructed across the country under the ROOTS Project to help farmers preserve perishable produce, particularly tomatoes and onions, when market demand is low.
Storage to give farmers more control over markets
ROOTS Project Director Famara Trawally said the facility’s location close to the Ndungu Kebbeh LUMO would allow farmers to store surplus vegetables and sell them later when market conditions improve.
“When they sell their produce and they get some excess, they can store it here. The sale price would be increased, and they will be able to resell it at the next LUMO,” he said.
The facility is estimated to cost US$261,482 and is being financed through a cost-sharing arrangement involving ROOTS/IFAD, CRI/IFAD, and the Solicita Marketing Federation.
For women farmers, the investment is aimed at addressing a longstanding problem: having to sell produce quickly, often at unfavourable prices, or risk losing it altogether.
Solicita President Fatoumatta Jagne said farmers frequently lost significant quantities of tomatoes, onions, and other vegetables because buyers were not always available immediately after harvest.
“When our crops are ripe and it is time to harvest, we are always worried about how to handle them. We usually don’t have markets on time, and the buyers normally come very late to buy our goods,” Jagne said.
She said the women’s D1.35 million contribution reflected their commitment to the project and their expectation that the facility would strengthen their livelihoods.
Climate and seasonal pressures
Agriculture Minister Demba Sabally said the six cold storage facilities being constructed under ROOTS were intended to address post-harvest losses in their respective catchment areas.
Jagne said gardening remains a major source of income for many women within the federation and expressed hope that improved storage capacity would encourage more women to enter vegetable production.
She also pointed to changing weather patterns as an additional challenge, saying shifts in weather conditions can cause crops to mature at the same time, leaving farmers with unusually large volumes of produce to handle within a short period.
The Ndungu Kebbeh facility is therefore expected to provide farmers with an option to hold their produce rather than being forced to sell immediately after harvest, potentially improving their bargaining position and reducing losses.
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