By: Lamin B. Darboe
Senior Communication officer, MoFWR
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) in The Gambia has donated weather station equipment worth D2.2 million to the Department of Water Resources (DWR) under the Ministry of Fisheries, Water Resources and National Assembly Matters.
The equipment was presented on Friday, 16 October 2026, at the ministry’s conference hall in Fajara.
Speaking at the presentation ceremony, IOM National Programme Officer George Andrews said the equipment was procured under a project entitled “Empowering Communities in The Gambia to Prevent, Mitigate and Resolve Land-Related Conflicts Exacerbated by Climate Change”.
He said the donation formed part of efforts to strengthen the department’s operational capacity, although the specific reference in his remarks to border security agencies requires clarification.
Andrews reaffirmed IOM’s commitment to supporting the Department of Water Resources and the ministry in their work.
Receiving the equipment on behalf of the department and the ministry, Dr Fafa K. Ceesay commended IOM for the donation, describing the equipment as important for collecting weather and climate data.
He assured the organisation that the equipment would be put to proper use to support the department’s work.
According to department officials, the equipment was procured under a peacebuilding project implemented by IOM and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in The Gambia.
The project has two components. The first supports the Department of Water Resources in training and disseminating early warning information, while the second, implemented under IOM, provides weather station equipment to strengthen the department’s technical capacity.
Pateh Baldeh, Meteorological Superintendent at the Department of Water Resources, witnessed the presentation and signing ceremony alongside senior IOM officials.
The donated equipment includes an FM6250 IntelliSense wet-and-dry psychrometer, a hygrometer, power leads, termination plugs, water reservoirs, sensor-fixing kits, an earth stake clamp, an earth lead, USB-to-RS422 interface cables, a modem upgrade kit, a solar panel with regulator, a 100-metre data cable and an RS422 opto-isolated interface unit.
The equipment is expected to support weather monitoring and the collection of climate information, strengthening the department’s capacity to provide data for early warning and climate-related planning.
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