When President Adama Barrow visited the countryside sometime last year as part of his annual Meet The People Tour, he gave many the impression that someadministrative regions of the country would’ve, by now,had granaries. In almost all the places in the North Bank, Lower River, Central River, and Upper River regions,where he held meetings, President Barrow harped on the need for the devising of ways and means to combat food insecurity in the country by establishing grain storehouses in the administrative regions.
However, it would appear that President Barrow and his government had indeed missed the opportunity that couldsignificantly reduce the domestic pressures on the government when it came to the upheavals in the food market and their resultant public condemnations.
Aside from that, granaries can greatly support the current efforts to reintroduce the school feeding program in parts of the country.
The government can meanwhile leverage the laws of demand and supply to stock food in the granaries for the rainy day as grain prices are now relatively cheaper thanthey would be during the lean dry season months.
The granary initiative can, without doubt, promote productivity when farmers are well aware of a ready market for their harvests.
An opportunity missed, indeed!
But is it not also said that better late than never?