By: Sainabou Sambou
Farmers Pharmacy on Saturday successfully staged the third edition of its popular Farmers Market at Africell Park along Kairaba Avenue, drawing local farmers, food processors, and enthusiastic consumers in a vibrant celebration of healthy eating and homegrown produce.
The event, locally known as Lumo, aimed to strengthen direct links between food producers and buyers while encouraging Gambians to embrace locally cultivated foods over imported alternatives.
Public Relations Officer of Farmers Pharmacy, Farama Badjie, used the occasion to deliver a passionate call for greater respect and support for the country’s farmers, whom he described as the bedrock of a healthy nation.
“Good health begins with healthy food, and healthy food starts with healthy soil,” Badjie told attendees. “Our problem in The Gambia starts with the soil. If we do not nourish our soil, we cannot produce healthy food.”
He stressed that many global health issues stem from poor dietary habits and urged citizens to view food as medicine, prioritizing fresh, naturally grown produce. Badjie highlighted the market’s role in building transparency, allowing consumers to meet the farmers who grow their food and understand their cultivation methods.
The Pharmacy official criticized The Gambia’s heavy reliance on imported foodstuffs and called for stronger support for local production. He also touched on broader issues, including environmental protection, climate change, waste management, food security, and sustainable development, and emphasized collective action.
“If we want to go very far, we have to go together,” Badjie said. “Farmers and consumers depend on one another.” He encouraged urban residents especially to bypass middlemen and buy directly from producers for fresher, more trustworthy food.
Badjie expressed hope that the Farmers Market would evolve into a regular weekly, monthly, and eventually daily national and regional fixture. “We have to eat what we grow and grow what we eat,” he added.
Among the visitors was Trude Slatterland, originally from Norway, who learned about the event through Facebook. A keen gardener with a small plot in The Gambia, Slatterland said she is passionate about supporting local farmers.
“I love fresh food. I love growing, and I love seeing things grow,” she said. Noting Norway’s short growing season compared to The Gambia’s year-round potential, she prefers Gambian produce over imported fruits and vegetables.
“It is fantastic, but it is still small. There is great potential for it to grow if more people support it,” Slatterland observed, praising the quality of items on display.
Vendor Fatim Gaye, founder of Gaye Njoro Farm, was participating for the first time. She sells value-added products including groundnut burgers, herbal tea, groundnut powder, and cereals. Gaye described farming as essential to life and highlighted networking opportunities at the market, while noting high packaging costs imported from China as a major challenge.
