Hundreds of thousands of women from all walks of life last weekend descended in Kanilai to take part in a massive weeding exercise at President Jammeh's Kanilai farms in Western Region. This move by the women was a show of solidarity to the Gambian leader and also to express their appreciation and gratitude to His Excellency to all that he has been doing for the women of this country. The team of volunteers from all the six administrative regions of the country stormed the farm fields at President Jammeh's home village of Kanilai, Burock, Dobong, Campant and Bujika.

The Gambian leader, who visited the site whilst the women were at work reiterated his called on every Gambian to venture into agriculture and increase production with a view to attaining food self-sufficiency and create surplus for marketing.

He thanked the Gambian women for their solidarity and support to his initiatives. "They have worked beyond my expectations because what they have done is really great", stated President Jammeh. He further stated that weeding is most of the time a problem in Kanilai but that he was surprised by the work done by women in the farms and thanked them so much for their intervention. President Jammeh also thanked all those who took part in the coordination. In this connection he also mentioned some of the National Assembly members and the men among them who joined the women in the exercise.

Also speaking to the reporters on the ground, the Vice President Aja Dr Isatou Njie-Saidy said that too many hands are necessary in such a kind of job "because the more people we have, the more work we can do particularly if they are committed in what they are doing," she added.

The Vice President said that the women of the Gambia have promised to come back for the harvesting of the fields and expressed hope that the work on the president's farms is going to be a yearly programme for the women from now on.

The Speaker of the National Assembly, Hon. Elizabeth Renner, told the reporters that the Gambian Women are prepared to work from start to end.

For her part, the Minister of Basic and Secondary Education, Fatou Lamin Faye, said she was really impressed with the amount of work done at the farm, saying the people have answered to the call of the Vice President.

Minister Faye disclosed that two years ago her ministry established a unit called the School Agricultural and Farming unit which seeks to encourage farming in all schools beyond the normal school gardens. This, she said is done in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture. The Basic and Secondary Education Minister further revealed that this program was piloted in 100 schools aimed at inculcating the culture of farming into the children and secondly to promote the school feeding programs supported by World Food Program (WFP).

Minister Faye proudly pointed out that there are schools at the moment which are no longer under WFP feeding program, but are still running their own feeding program. She cited Misira one example as one school that other schools can emulate.

the Minister of Information and Communication Infrastructure, Alhagie Cham said that he is in for supporting women in their cause to contribute in the Kanilai farm which they are doing to help the President and themselves.

Fatou Mass Jobe, the Minister of Tourism and Culture said farming is a necessity in that if one views the world over, the natural disasters that are happening; most countries are banning the importation of wheat.

This reporter caught up with some women and asked them about their mission in Kanilai, and these were their reactions:

Mrs Adama Jobe, leader State House Mosque Committee said they were in Kanilai to answer to the call by the Vice President. "We have a President who has the interest of the women at heart. As he wants the best for women, we also want the best for him", she noted. Mrs. Jobe prayed for the good health, long life and well being of the President, and called on all women leaders of this country to follow the footsteps of the Vice President. "This work being done here is for ourselves and our children; it all comes back to us at the end of the day. Therefore I urged all women to work hard and answer to the call by the President for us to go back to the land," she remarked.

By Fatou Touray