FAO Advances Capacity Development Through Regional Technical Exchange

Strengthening national capacity remains at the core of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations’ (FAO) support to The Gambia’s agrifood systems. A recent technical study tour to Kenya and Cabo Verde has reinforced this commitment by equipping Gambian scientists and technicians with practical skills and institutional knowledge in tissue culture, greenhouse management and rapid multiplication technologies.

Aligned with FAO’s Country Programming Framework (CPF) for The Gambia, the mission focused on building human and institutional capacity to enable sustainable adoption of modern agricultural technologies. Through hands-on exposure, technical demonstrations and peer-to-peer exchange, participants deepened their understanding of laboratory protocols, biosecurity standards, and operational models that underpin successful tissue culture systems.

“Capacity development is not only about infrastructure; it is about people, skills and systems,” said the Director of the Directorate of Urban Agriculture of the Department of Agriculture, Papiya Badjie. “This study tour has strengthened our confidence that Gambian institutions can gradually adopt these technologies with the right training and support.”

In Kenya, the delegation engaged extensively with scientists at KEPHIS, KALRO and agricultural training colleges, where tissue culture laboratories are integrated into education, research and service delivery. Participants observed how technicians are trained, how standard operating procedures are enforced, and how laboratories maintain strict quality control to ensure disease-free planting materials.

Kenyan officials emphasized that sustained capacity development has been critical to their success.

“We invested heavily in training technicians and enforcing laboratory standards,” explained a senior Kenyan laboratory manager. “Once the human capacity was in place, scaling up production became much easier.”

The mission also highlighted the importance of linking capacity development with extension services and farmer access. In both Kenya and Cabo Verde, research institutions actively supply seedlings and planting materials to farmers, ensuring that innovation reaches the field.

In Cabo Verde, visits to the National Institute for Agricultural Research and Development (INIDA) demonstrated how capacity building extends beyond tissue culture to include hydroponics, soil fertility analysis, seed systems and biological pest control. These integrated approaches offer valuable lessons for strengthening research and advisory services in The Gambia.

Following the mission, participants agreed to consolidate lessons learned into practical guidelines and standard operating procedures tailored to national institutions such as NARI and the Department of Agriculture. FAO will support follow-up actions, including targeted training, technical backstopping and partnership development, in line with CPF priorities.

“This mission has laid a strong foundation for long-term capacity development. Our focus now is to translate knowledge into sustained institutional strengthening.” Said Dr. Arss Secka, FAO’s TCP Support Officer