By Nelson Manneh
Farmers in Foni have raised concerns that the ongoing dispute over the Gambia-Senegal border is threatening their livelihoods, as uncertainty over the location of some farmlands continues to affect agricultural activities in the area.
The farmers said their immediate concern was not the political or territorial debate surrounding the border, but their ability to access their farms and cultivate their crops during the rainy season.
For generations, communities living along the border have depended on farming for food and income, with many families cultivating lands that have been passed down through generations.
But recent claims that some farmlands being cultivated by Gambian farmers are located in Senegal’s Casamance region have created uncertainty among farmers in Foni. Speaking to this reporter by telephone, several farmers said they had heard conflicting information about the location of their farmlands.
Omar Colley, a farmer from Foni Bulock, said he had heard reports claiming that some farmers were cultivating lands that fall within Casamance and not The Gambia.
“We received different news reports. We heard people claiming that many of us were farming on lands that fall in Casamance and not in The Gambia. We also heard others debunking that information,” Colley said.
He said he was familiar with the land he currently cultivates because his family had farmed it for generations.
“All I know is that the land I have now was cultivated by my grandfather. I used to farm the same land with my late father, and when he died, I continued to cultivate it,” he said.
Colley said the land he farms is located beyond the Bulock military post.
“It is located beyond the Bulock military post. If somebody is claiming that the said land falls in Casamance, that would be strange to me,” he said.
He said that, for now, he was not interested in the political question of which country the land belongs to.
Instead, he said his priority was to ensure that farmers could access their fields and continue cultivating their crops.
Colley called on the authorities to assist farmers in accessing their farmlands during the current farming season.
“All we need from the authorities is to help us, by all means, to access and farm these lands,” he said.
He suggested that the question of border demarcation could be addressed after the rainy season.
“After the rainy season, they can work on demarcating the borders so that by the next rainy season we will know our fate before cultivation starts,” Colley said.
He said the uncertainty over the location of the farmlands was making it difficult for farmers to concentrate on their work.
“Right now, it is very inconvenient for someone to be saying that some of our farmlands are in Casamance and not in Gambian territory,” he said.
Colley said farmers depend on their fields for their livelihoods and that any disruption to farming could affect families in the area.
The concern is shared by farmers in other communities along the border.
Musa Badjie of Kampanti village said the situation was complex and warned that the Gambian authorities needed to handle the issue carefully.
“If the Gambian authorities are not careful, the Senegalese government will manipulate the situation to claim farmlands that never belonged to Casamance,” Badjie said.
He said farmers living close to the border had detailed knowledge of the area because they had lived and worked there for years.
“This border is very complex. Most of us who have farmlands close to the border know exactly what is happening there,” he said.
Badjie disputed claims that some of the lands being identified as part of Casamance had historically belonged to Senegal.
“Some of the lands they are claiming as part of Casamance have never been part of Senegalese territory; they are all within The Gambia,” he said.
He said family ties and land ownership arrangements between communities on both sides of the border further demonstrated the complexity of the situation.
“My father has a brother who is in Casamance, and the land he cultivates year in, year out was given to him by my late father, which we are all aware of,” Badjie said.
He said the land had been cultivated by his relative over the years without the family considering it to be a disputed territory.
“So, if the Senegalese authorities are claiming ownership of those areas, it means they are claiming lands that were never theirs,” Badjie said.
He called for local communities to be included in any exercise aimed at clarifying or demarcating the border.
Badjie said residents who live along the border should be consulted because they have detailed knowledge of the geography and traditional land use in the area.
“For the borders to be properly demarcated, the Gambian government must engage the local residents living along the border, as they know the geography better than anyone else,” he said.
Badjie acknowledged that the government has the authority to conduct a border demarcation exercise, but said local knowledge should be considered.
“If they want to do it on their own, that is fine because we don’t have the power to stop them, but the truth is we know the area more than any other person,” he said.
The farmers said the timing of the border dispute was particularly concerning because the rainy season is the most important period for agricultural communities.
They said farmers need uninterrupted access to their fields to weed, apply inputs and maintain their crops.
They also said any prolonged restriction on access to farmlands could affect food production and household incomes.
For communities that depend heavily on agriculture, the farmers said losing access to their fields could have serious consequences for their livelihoods.
The farmers therefore called on the authorities to ensure that they can continue cultivating their crops while the wider border issue is addressed. They said a clear and lasting solution to the border question would also give farmers greater certainty before future farming seasons.
For now, however, the farmers said their priority remains access to their fields. They said they want to continue farming the lands they have cultivated for generations without being caught between competing claims over the border.
