A growing number of young Gambian entrepreneurs are starting food production companies to boost the country’s local food production. 

The majority of food consumed in The Gambia is imported, but a growing number of young farmers with the support of UN-funded training are looking to make a difference. 

One of these inspiring youths is 24-year-old Alhagie Faal of Kanuma village in the North Bank region. 

Faal has built a successful small business by turning family land into a sizeable plot where he grows fruit and vegetables to sell to restaurants and hotels. 

He started his business after receiving training from a UN Capital Development Fund, a project that focused on youth and women in rural areas.

“Before I started this business, I was a carpenter but agriculture was always my passion. Without agriculture we can’t feed the nation, and I had a dream to supply The Gambia with healthy produce,” Faal told UN News.