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Geospatial Solutions for Sustainable Agriculture in the Gambia - UTF/GAM/047/GAM

Year of publication 2025

Place of publication Rome, Italy ;

Pages 2

Publisher FAO ;

Product type Project

Synopsis (short abstract) The Gambia, the smallest country in mainland Africa, faces significant development challenges, including food insecurity, malnutrition, migration, unemployment and climate change. With a rapidly growing population of 2.1 million, of which 62 percent live in poverty and 48 percent below the USD 1.25 per day threshold, agriculture remains the primary livelihood for 70 percent of the population, though it contributes only 24 percent to the gross domestic product. Low agricultural productivity, particularly in rain-fed systems, exacerbates rural poverty and food insecurity. The country is highly vulnerable to climate change, experiencing severe saltwater intrusion into lowland floodplains and recurrent droughts that have significantly reduced agricultural yields. Rising sea levels and declining rainfall have further intensified these challenges, necessitating stronger agricultural interventions. To address these issues, the Government of the Gambia, in partnership with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), launched the Resilience of Organizations for Transformative Smallholder Agriculture Project (ROOTS). The GTA project, implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) was designed to enhance technical capacities in geospatial technologies to support capacity development, monitoring and evaluation of the ROOTS initiative.

Language English

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