FAO donates GMD 1.9 million in equipment to monitor livestock
The tools and IT equipment will support the Department of Forestry and Livestock to reduce violence and conflicts over land and natural resources proactively.
01 March 2021, Banjul – Land related conflicts have become a growing problem and have often resulted in violence that has caused death, destruction, and displacement. Land conflict happens due to poor land governance, population increase, inadequate land policies, land tenure insecurity and pastoralism. The Gambia is no exception to these problems, and thus, the Government is undertaking proactive measures in addressing land-related conflict.
To complement these efforts, the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and United Nations Development Programme form a tandem to support the Gambian Government to address conflicts over land in the country. FAO is strengthening the legal frameworks related to Land and Natural Resources (LNR) within the frame of the project "Addressing Conflict over Land and Natural Resources in The Gambia," funded by the UN Peacebuilding Fund. These regulations focus on conflict resolution, governance, and peacebuilding. They will, among others, promote the use of conflict prevention mechanisms, especially in communities where LNR conflict-related violence has already occurred.
Furthermore, the project has implemented programs to strengthen the National and Local Authorities' capacities to implement land and natural resource dispute resolution policies and inclusive legislative frameworks. It also supports efforts in helping national authorities and communities use dispute resolution mechanisms to address LNR disputes in conflict hot spots.
As part of this support, FAO handed over items worth GMD 1,931,037 to the Department of Forestry and Department of Livestock Services. The items handed over to the Department of Forestry include 1 Map Plotter (printer), 20 GPS Units, pickaxes, spades, field boots, rubber boots, 900 demarcation poles, 110 bags of cement, sand and gravel. The Department of Livestock Services received 3000 cattle tags, 15 tag applicators, 15 tablets and a desktop computer. The equipment is earmarked to establish the Cattle Identification System.
During the handing over ceremony held at the FAO grounds in Fajara, Dr Mustapha Ceesay, Assistant FAO Representative Head of Programmes, expressed optimism that the donated items will serve their intended purpose of addressing land conflict issues. He explained that the main objective of the donations to the Department of Forestry is to implant demarcation poles at selected forest parks with the support of community members living on the parks' borders, the local park guides and regional forestry officers. He indicated that community members would form a workforce to assist in mixing cement, moving poles and equipment, and the installation of the poles. "This is to ensure that community members are aware of the forest boundaries next to their settlements to mitigate future encroachments," he said. Dr Ceesay added that the cattle tags and IT equipment donated to the Department of Livestock will enhance the security and establish the innovative cattle tracking system. He highlighted as an example that certain numbers on the tags identify specific regions. Therefore, when registering this type of information in a national database, the livestock department will have an excellent tool at hand to keep track of the cattle. The cattle tracking system will quickly identify the owner and the region where the lost cattle came from when found.
Mr Muhammed Jaiteh, Director of Department of Forestry, and Ebou Jobe, the Department of Livestock Services, thanked FAO and UNDP the support. They both noted that the IT equipment and tools will help mitigate land conflict in The Gambia.