Darboe Pledges to Put Farmers First, Promises Higher Groundnut Prices if UDP Wins

By Seedy Jobe

ANM Ousainu Darboe, the leader of the opposition United Democratic Party (UDP), on Saturday pledged to make agriculture the centerpiece of national policy, promising higher groundnut prices and greater support for farmers if his party forms the next government.

Addressing supporters at a campaign rally in Kiang Jifarong, a farming community in the Lower River Region, Mr. Darboe argued that successive governments had failed to prioritize the livelihoods of ordinary Gambians, contending that investments in infrastructure should not come at the expense of agriculture.

“The Gambia needs a government that puts farmers first,” Mr. Darboe said, presenting agriculture as the country’s economic foundation and describing farming communities such as Kiang as central to national development.

His remarks were aimed squarely at President Adama Barrow’s administration, which he criticized for highlighting road construction as one of its signature achievements. Mr. Darboe questioned whether infrastructure alone could satisfy the needs of citizens struggling with the rising cost of living.

“Adama said he has given Gambians what they need. What is that? He said, Roads,” Mr. Darboe told the crowd. Recalling a recent visit to neighboring Senegal, he said he had seen modern highways there, adding that the governments responsible for building them were nonetheless voted out of office.

His point, he said, was that roads alone do not determine electoral success. Governments, he argued, must address the economic concerns that shape people’s daily lives.

Mr. Darboe said a UDP administration would place farmers’ incomes ahead of salary increases for civil servants, arguing that boosting agricultural production and rural earnings would have broader benefits for the national economy.

He also accused the current government of failing to ensure that farmers benefited from favorable international prices for groundnuts, The Gambia’s principal cash crop.

“For three years, not even a butut has been added to their pay,” he said, referring to the prices paid to farmers.

The veteran opposition leader pledged that a UDP government would guarantee better prices for groundnuts and questioned why Gambian farmers continued to express frustration while, he said, their counterparts in Senegal appeared more satisfied with government support.

Mr. Darboe also criticized government spending on nationwide political tours, arguing that public funds would be better directed toward agricultural inputs. He proposed using D50 million to subsidize fertilizer, saying it should either be distributed free of charge or sold to farmers for no more than D500 per bag.

“What a good leader does is stand for the needs of their farmers,” he said, adding that many producers still lacked access to affordable fertilizer and basic farming equipment.

Turning to the December 5 presidential election, Mr. Darboe urged supporters to view the vote as an opportunity for national change. He described what he called President Barrow’s “unawareness” as the country’s central political problem and appealed to voters to support the UDP as the remedy.

“The opportunity to change that will come on the 5th of December,” Mr. Darboe said. “There is one wound here, and that wound is Adama Barrow’s unawareness. So we all know what our wound is, and we can cure it. Let us all stand and cure the wound.”

The speech underscored the UDP’s effort to make agriculture and rural livelihoods central themes of its campaign as political parties intensify outreach ahead of the December presidential election.