Gambia, Senegal Working to Restore Farmers’ Access to Border Farmlands, Foreign Minister Says

By Fatou Sillah

The Gambia and Senegal are working to resolve border-related issues that have restricted some farmers from accessing their farmlands, Foreign Affairs Minister Sering Modou Njie has said.

Speaking in an interview with West Coast Radio, Njie said authorities from both countries have agreed that farmers should be allowed to access their fields and continue farming while outstanding border disputes are addressed through established bilateral mechanisms.

“Now what is left is to allow our farmers from both countries to have access to their farmlands and continue their farming,” Njie said.

The minister said the concerns of affected farmers were among the issues discussed during his recent visit to Dakar. He noted that cross-border farming is common, with Gambian farmers cultivating land in Senegal and Senegalese farmers doing the same in The Gambia.

Njie said the discussions followed recent tensions along the border, including the demolition of a perimeter wall around Gambian military installations by Senegalese forces on July 16.

According to the minister, President Adama Barrow instructed Gambian security forces to exercise maximum restraint following the incident. The Gambian government subsequently engaged Senegalese authorities, stressing that border disputes should be resolved through dialogue and established bilateral mechanisms rather than military action.

Njie said the national boundary commissions of the two countries, operating under the supervision of the Senegalo-Gambian Permanent Secretariat, have agreed to meet in Banjul to address the outstanding issues.

He stressed that The Gambia and Senegal maintain longstanding cooperation in defence and security, trade, education, culture, and diplomacy, and said the border dispute should be resolved without undermining those relations.

The minister expressed optimism that the understandings reached between the two governments would allow affected farmers on both sides of the border to return to their fields and continue their agricultural activities.