The 4th FSCA Regional Workshop was held in Banjul, The Gambia

from 1st to 3rd February 2012.

Dear readers of the FSCA website,

I am writing these few lines from Bangkok, where I was appointed as the Senior Field Programme Officer just a few months back, and I take this opportunity to wish all of you and your families a very Happy and Prosperous New Year.

I remember last year, more or less at the same time, I was planning my activities for the upcoming 2011 and I was sure that in 2011 many important things would have happened: the midterm review of all or most of the projects, the extension of the project in Guinea Bissau, the increase of funds -at least for Liberia-, the finalization of the Beneficiaries’ Assessment of the programme and a few other, equally important activities.

Le Projet de Diversification Intensification et Valorisation des Produits Agricoles Locaux (DIVA) en Guinée-Bissau, financé dans le cadre du Programme Italien pour la Sécurité Alimentaire a introduit le système intensif d’élevage des animaux de cycle court dans les zones d’intervention du projet, qui a connu un grand engouement et un intérêt particulier pour les bénéficiaires du projet en général et les éleveurs en particulier. Ce projet, mis en œuvre dans les régions d’Oio et de Bafata, depuis juillet 2008 a appuyé les communautés bénéficiaires de quarante(40) villages, vingt par région, dans différents domaines, notamment la diversification de la production agro-pastorale, le renforcement des capacités techniques et organisationnelles des groupements bénéficiaires et l’amélioration de la stratégie de transformation, conservation et commercialisation des produits excédentaires.

OSOP products from the communities of Essau, Njawara and Mbullum, all in the North Bank Region in The Gambia are among many others that now enjoy high customer demand in major markets of the Gambia. Different products are being produced by 40 communities in the North Bank and Central River Regions of the Gambia under the FSCA project. The Project adopted the One-Village-One-Product (OVOP) concept and approach to achieve food security through commercialisation. The OVOP has been adapted and localised in The Gambia to mean: ‘One-Satee-One-Product’ (OSOP).

This meeting has been an excellent opportunity for all the partners involved in the FSCA projects’ implementation to assess the projects’ execution and exchange their experiences to capitalize good practices and learn from the deficiencies occurred.