Rural Development organization plans to expand its support to women and youth living in the Baddibu District of the Republic of the Gambia by establishing a solar-powered water system, fence an area of 5 hectares with steel poles and netted wire. This is aimed at providing clean drinking water to 1200 inhabitants in addition to irrigating a 5-hectare vegetable garden.
200 women and youths of Baddibu are faced with the following challenges in their vegetable cultivation. Poor access to productive assets e.g. land and water, the rudimentary technologies and practices used, low agricultural and labor productivity, insufficient income to ensure food security from prevalent low-input and low-output farming activities, low and decreasing soil fertility, lack of regular access to affordable, quality seeds, high unemployment, and underemployment
We provide the community with safe drinking water thereby improving health and wellbeing of the people in the long term. establish a solar-powered water system to irrigate a 5-hectare vegetable garden as well as for domestic consumption. provide fencing materials e.g. netted wire and steel poles. build reservoirs in the garden with a network of piping. construct 15m3 concrete tank elevated on 6-meter tower for storage of water. construct 10m X 10m chainlink fence
In the long term, this project would greatly improve the socio-economic conditions of the people of Baddibu. Another potential impact of this project is youth migration (rural-urban or even illegal migration) which will be reduced drastically if not completely eradicated. The provision of safe drinking water would drastically reduce the prevalence of diarrheal diseases such as dysentery, guinea worm etc thereby improving the health conditions of the people concerned.
