Latrikunda Sabiji National Assembly member Saikou Marong has asked the Barrow government to urgently address the rising food prices.

The Gambia has seen an unprecedented rise in prices of essential commodities such as rice and bread 

Mr Marong made the plea at the National Assembly on Monday. 

“Let me quickly talk about the prices of commodities in our markets. Madam speaker what doubts me most is that if you go to the market today and you buy something at the cost of 10 dalasi from the same shop and the same product – go there the next day they will charge you 12 or 13 dalasis,” he said.

“And yet still the government is not talking about it. Yes we have a system that we cannot impose prices on people to sell their products, but if that system is not working, what do we do? 

“We have to change that system. It cannot be the same business because Ramadan is fast approaching and it is just not fair,” he added.

Meanwhile, President Adama Barrow upon his return from a two-day state visit to DR Congo said his government is doing everything possible to see how best “we can partner with people who have the capacity so that they can be importing rice into this country.

“But the best solution is for us to go back to the land to see how best we can industrialise our agriculture because we have the capacity to produce enough rice for this country. I think that is the best solution for this country.”

Reporting by Adama Makasuba