Gambia: New Rainy Season Begins, Farmers Still Waiting Months After Selling Their Produce

As farmers across The Gambia begin planting for the 2026/2027 cropping season, many groundnut farmers in Jokadou District of the North Bank Region are still waiting to receive payment for groundnuts they sold to government-approved buying centres months ago during the last trade season.

The prolonged delay has left many unable to buy fertilizer, seeds and other farm inputs at the start of the new farming season, forcing the government to announce that it will pay the affected farmers directly while pursuing legal action against the defaulting Cooperative Marketing Societies (CPMS), commonly known as Seccos.

The announcement follows reports that several Seccos allegedly failed to pay farmers despite having already received funds from the government through the National Food Security Cooperative (NFSC), formerly the Gambia Groundnut Corporation (GGC).

Speaking to Foroyaa, NFSC Deputy Managing Director Lamin Sanyang confirmed that the government has instructed the corporation to compensate all affected farmers directly after verification of their claims.

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"That's the position currently," Sanyang said.

He explained that the corporation is currently verifying the identities of the affected farmers, the quantities of groundnuts they supplied and the amounts owed before any payments are made.

"Our team is currently doing the verification to authenticate those farmers that are affected. We authenticate the receipt, the number of kilos each farmer is owed by the particular CPMS," he said.

According to him, the verification exercise includes checking the Purchase Receipt (PR), payment receipts and other supporting documents.

"You cannot pay like that. You have to authenticate, you have to confirm, and then confirm the PR -- the Purchase Receipt Order -- and the receipt," he added.

Mr. Sanyang said the government has decided that all payments will be made directly to farmers instead of through the Seccos in order to prevent a repeat of the problem.

"We are paying all the farmers affected. It is the government, and you cannot settle one and leave the other one. We are paying directly to the farmers, not the Seccos. We are not paying to any Secco to avoid any abnormality again. We are paying each particular farmer that is affected," he said.

Although he could not provide a definite date for the commencement of payments, he expressed optimism that the process would not take long once verification is completed.

"No, that one I cannot give. It could be less than a week or a week because you have to authenticate," he said.

Mr. Sanyang described the conduct of some Secco officials as disappointing, saying they collected government funds meant for farmers but failed to pass the money on to those who delivered their produce.

"Some of these farmers took their groundnuts to them, and they know very well that they were given the money to pay them, and they did not pay them," he said.

He added that the failure of the Seccos had left many farmers without payment for several months after the close of the marketing season.

"And then, you know, causing the delay of farmers not getting their money up to this time," he said.

He said the government has resolved to compensate the affected farmers while legal proceedings are pursued against the Secco presidents alleged to have withheld the payments.

"This is why the government came up with the decision that the affected farmers should be paid while we pursue those CPMS presidents that have done that act," he said.

For many farmers, however, the announcement comes after months of uncertainty and financial hardship.

Musa Ceesay, Hamat Bah and Mbaye Chune, all farmers from Turo Alasan, said they had not been officially informed about the government's decision but welcomed the development.

They urged the authorities to ensure that payments are made without further delay, noting that the rainy season has already begun and many farmers have yet to purchase essential farming inputs.

"As we speak, I want to buy fertilizer but couldn't because there is no money for it," one of the farmers said.

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"We were even short of seeds, all because of the non-payment of our groundnuts."

The farmers said the delayed payments have affected preparations for the current farming season, with some forced to postpone planting or rely on borrowed inputs.

The groundnut trade season officially ended on 31 March 2026, but several months later a number of farmers remain unpaid despite having delivered their produce through government-recognised buying centres.

The government's decision to pay the farmers directly is expected to provide relief to those affected. However, for many of them, the intervention comes after the onset of another rainy season, when they would ordinarily have already purchased fertilizer, secured seeds and prepared their fields for cultivation.

The National Food Security Cooperative said it will continue verifying claims before payments are made, while legal action is pursued against the defaulting Seccos accused of failing to pay farmers despite receiving government funds for that purpose.