Matarr Touray Warns Climate Risks Could Undermine Jobs and Agriculture in The Gambia

By Fatou Sillah

Matarr Touray, an Energy Specialist at the World Bank Group, has warned that escalating climate risks could significantly disrupt employment, business activity, and agricultural production in The Gambia if urgent adaptation measures are not implemented.

In an interview with Kerr Fatou, Touray discussed the findings of the World Bank’s Country Climate and Development Report for The Gambia, noting that climate-related pressures could contribute to economic contraction with far-reaching consequences for livelihoods nationwide.

“If your economy is receding, the direct impact is felt across the entire country, particularly on job creation,” Touray said. “Economic growth is really part of the factors of job creation, so you are now losing jobs.”

He emphasized that the impact would extend to emerging segments of the economy, including young entrepreneurs and women-led enterprises, which are increasingly central to The Gambia’s economic landscape.

“Gambia is moving into a very entrepreneurial society; you have a lot of young entrepreneurs and women entrepreneurs, and this affects business outcomes at that level as well,” he said.

Touray also highlighted efforts to integrate climate resilience into national infrastructure projects, citing the OIC Highway as an example of development that incorporates adaptation measures.

“Every time I drive on this new OIC highway, it is a visual representation of what is happening, but also critically it is embedding issues of climate resilience into its design,” he said.

Turning to agriculture, Touray underscored the vulnerability of the sector, which employs a significant portion of the population. He warned that rising temperatures and prolonged exposure to heat pose serious risks to farmers and productivity.

“If you have 70% of your population involved in agriculture, these are people out in the fields, and the hotter it gets, the more heat they receive from working in the fields,” he said.

He cautioned that declines in agricultural production would trigger broader economic repercussions. “It affects agricultural output, and then the cascading effects across the board do happen,” Touray added.