Gambia is Good - A Miracle of Marketing

GIG Preparing salad in hotel kitchenHow Concern Universal is helping local growers to beat the imports...
In The Gambia, growers follow the conventions of subsistence farming; using traditional methods to farm traditional crops. The typical result is poor yields, poor quality and seasonal flooding of the market, with growers often completely unable to sell their produce.

But at the same time as tonnes of excess produce is going to waste, the market is being pumped full of imported produce from Holland, France, Las Palmas and Senegal - all destined for consumption within the country's thriving tourist industry.

Gambia is good logoConcern Universal's response? To join forces with the UK's leading organic fruit producer, Haygrove, and create Gambia is Good (GiG), a pro-poor fresh produce marketing company. By servicing hotels, restaurants and supermarkets directly, GiG has been able to get a firm grip on their needs, and translate these into detailed production plans for growers. Hoteliers, long frustrated by inconsistent supplies, have welcomed the initiative with open arms and are now buying 20 tonnes Haygrove GiG Logoof produce per month during the tourist season.

GiG farm trainees

Close coordination with Concern Universal's donor-funded horticultural training programmes and local partners has allowed GiG to mobilise over 800 farmers, and replace over-produced produce with in-demand vegetables like courgettes, iceberg lettuce and broccoli - with retail prices as much as 10 times higher.



GiG vegetable outletIn 2007, GiG diverted £34,000 of sales away from the importers and into the hands of local, small-scale producers; helping to redress the poverty in rural areas. A further innovation saw GiG join hands with The Travel Foundation to launch their own open farm which is used to demonstrate best-practice and generate additional revenue through produce sales and tourism.

Gambian man with tomato cropAs the majority of goods are now produced locally using specially selected varieties, GiG is able to deliver a fresher, better quality and cheaper product to market - and the hotels are just as delighted as the growers. The overall result is an innovative and holistic project which is going a long way to achieving its ultimate goal - sustainable, improved rural livelihoods in The Gambia.

See the Gambia is Good Project 'on a page' (opens a 68KB PDF file in a new window)

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