On the second and third day of the nationwide field tour, the Honourable Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, and Food Security and his delegation visited one ROOTS site — the Yalal Tankonjala Women’s Vegetable Garden in the North Bank Region.
Initially developed by the NEMA Project and completed by ROOTS, the garden now has 54 members (47 women, 7 men) and continues to thrive as a center of food production and empowerment.
“This garden gave us livelihood and health,” said one of the women.
They proudly shared that they use organic compost produced from a chamber built by ROOTS, avoiding chemical fertilizers. The women emphasized the health benefits of eating fresh, chemical-free produce from their own gardens.
Income growth:
2022: D28,525
2024: D442,471
Additional Support:
Benefitted from ROOTS Agroforestry Initiative: planted 200 moringa and 613 lime trees
Received capacity building in GALS and literacy & numeracy, enabling members to independently record and weigh their produce
Their garden secretary is proudly a female member elected from within the group
Current Challenges & Requests:
– Need for a tricycle to ease compost material collection
– Appeal to increase water capacity to sustain production
The women expressed heartfelt gratitude to ROOTS for transforming their lives through sustainable agriculture and skills development.
The Hon. Minister was visibly impressed and commended their efforts. He reaffirmed government support to ensure gardens like Yalal Tankonjala continue to flourish.
[09:30, 24/07/2025] Mr Nuha: DAY 3: Empowering Farmers, Growing Communities
The Honourable Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, and Food Security and his delegation continued their nationwide project site tour on Day 3 with stops in Central River Region (CRR).
Stop 1: Kerewan Sitokoto Women’s Garden – Nianija
Completed and operationalized by ROOTS, this vibrant garden is transforming lives.
✅ ROOTS support included:
Overhead tank
Solar-powered reticulation system
Borehole and reservoirs
Perimeter fence upgrades
Farmhouse construction
💬 “ROOTS took us from grass to grace,” said the garden’s female president.
“We feed our families directly from this garden and sell the rest to meet our household needs.”
Main Concern:
Stop 2: Barajally (Suba & Tenda) – Rice Production Site
These sites benefitted from the ROOTS Subsidized Input Support Program and, notably, the Crisis Response Initiative.
Key Interventions:
– Repaired, rehabilitated, and replaced primary irrigation gates
– Services of a rice combine harvester provided by the Ministry
Impact:
“We can now control water flow in and out of our fields, boosting production to 3–4 tons per hectare this year.”
Farmers appealed for:
– More machinery support (tractors, harvesters)
– Land leveling and expansion to increase cultivated areas
✅ The Hon. Minister assured them of continued government support, including regular access to agricultural machinery to scale up their operations.