FAO in the Gambia

The Gambia is one of the poorest countries in the world, ranking 160 out of 173 countries in the 2002 UNDP Human Development Report. With a population growth of over four percent per annum, The Gambia has one of the highest growth rates in Africa. The tiny, coastal country hugs the Gambia River and is surrounded on three sides by Senegal, making it vulnerable to changes in the regional political climate.

The rate of population growth is, however, one of the principal factors of concern in efforts to improve food security. It is also impeded by a rapid urbanisation (40 percent).

Agricultural production, the primary economic activity, has declined throughout the 1990s as a result of several factors, including environmental degradation, declining/poor distribution of rainfall, weak marketing infrastructure, lack of access to credit (especially for the youths and women) and a limited resource base.

The country is on the western edge of the arid Sahelian belt that stretches across Africa. The region has been suffering from drought for the last two years, and is also vulnerable to migratory locust plagues. FAO activities in the country focus on rural development and agricultural diversification, in accordance with the Government's anti-poverty strategy.