Page 54 - UN Gambia 2020 CCA stakeholder consultations report

• Participants identified a range of challenges in agriculture such as: Insufficient funding, conservative farming methods within the

community, seasonal farming (farming only during the raining season), lack of training for farmers, and women not having ownership of
land due to cultural beliefs. All the participants identified the children and the elderly as the most vulnerable to food shortage in their
communities.

NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT

• The lack of proper waste disposal has been recognized by all the participants to be the most pressing challenge in their communities. In
addition, lack of proper land management systems has led to disputes between communities (specifically communities along the coastal

areas). All the participants desperately complained about the irregular supply of water in the communities.
• Climate change is now becoming a global problem and our communities are not excluded from its effects. In recent years there has been

an increase in the cases of some health conditions like hypertension due to high humid conditions. The health sector is not the only area
affected by climate and weather variability; farmers are also experiencing food shortage in some communities as a result of low rainfall.

Prolonged rainfall also affects productivity, three participants explained that the growth of certain cereals like maize and wheat are
stagnant due to it. Most participants forecast poor harvest since most household farmers within the community are already complaining

of prolonged rainfall. A participant highlighted the damages caused by the floods in the community.
• During the discussions it was disclosed that climate change and the environment have the potential of creating conflicts most particularly

between herdsmen and farmers.

• Basically, all aspect of society is affected when there are changes in the climate and the environment but then the most affected according
to two of the participants are the poor. The women, children, youth and the elderly are mentioned by the others as being the most affected
with these issues.

ENERGY AND ROADS INFRASTRUCTURE
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