Departments / Units

POLICY ANALYSIS AND FORMULATION UNIT (PAF)

The unit is responsible for the analysis, formulation. and assessment of broad policy issues as they relate to agriculture and natural resources policy objectives and their interrelationship with the general stabilization and development policy shifts of the government. Its principal mandates are discerned as follows:

1. Assist technical departments within MoA in the analysis and formulation of sub-sector policy objectives and strategies relating to the agriculture and natural resource sector in line with the macro-policy shifts of the government;
2. Assist in the preparation of appropriate policy instruments and measures regarding the implementation of projects and programmes;
3. To critically review and periodically adjust MoA's sub-sectoral policy objectives under the changing macro-policy conditions over time;
4. To coordinate the preparation of the annual budget speech of all the technical departments.

PROGRAMMES/PROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND CONTROL UNIT

Is the UNIT charged with the following primary responsibilities:

1. To carry out the systematic formulation, analysis and appraisal of projects and programmes for the agriculture and natural resource's sector;
2. To carry out the programming and budgeting activities of the various technical departments within MoA through the coordination of the Programme Budgeting System (PBS) activities;
3. To organize training for the staff of the technical departments on project identification, preparation and appraisal;
4. To assist all technical departments within MoA in the establishment of a viable and easy financial information system which can be effectively utilised by the directorate for simple financial management.

MONITORING AND EVALUATION UNIT (M & E)

The main functions of the section include:

1. The designing of appropriate and effective monitoring and evaluation systems for the various technical departments of the MANR;
2. The training of its staff as well as others from technical departments under MANR in M&E systems for the effective control of the various ongoing programme and project activities;
3. The periodical reviewing and evaluating all donor-sponsored projects and programmes in line with their objectives and where necessary recommending changes to achieve the desired objectives;
4. The undertaking of socioeconomic studies related to agriculture and natural resource's sector; and
5. The provision of quarterly and annual reports on the implementation status of major projects/projects under MANR.

AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS AND RESOURCE ECONOMICS UNIT (ASRE)

Is a unit under the Department of Planning and is within the Government's development programme.

This section unlike the other sections of the department has two distinct units: the National Agricultural Sample Survey Unit (NASS) and the National Agricultural Data Centre (NADC). Both units have been amalgamated into a single section ASRE. NASS is charged with the responsibility of collecting agriculture and natural resources data. NADC collates these data for analysis through the use of computers. ASRE's main functions are discerned as follows:

1. To serve as the data bank for all technical departments under MANR, responsible of collecting agricultural, marketing, macroeconomic and credit statistics for policy analysis and formulation for agriculture and natural resource's sector; b. To conduct national agricultural sample surveys aimed at collecting useful agricultural statistics for ultimate data users on an annual basis;
2. To collect, analyze and produce the user-friendly agricultural statistics published in the "Statistical Yearbook of the Gambian Agriculture";
3. To undertake the rural cereal stock inventory survey to determine the food security levels of rural households;
4. To conduct retail and weekly surveys on cereal prices from the regular and lweekly (Lumo) markets aimed at informing farmers and middlemen alike the price range prevalent in these markets; and,
5. To organize and launch ad-hoc surveys for the agriculture and natural resource's sector.