Educating and Regulating Importers to Producers

Great leaders understand the need to educate is paramount beyond businesses, but regulating should largely be around businesses, not personal matters. Although the title can go beyond food, I prefer to limit the discussion on food and more specifically on produce (plants or what grows). My God is yet to give me millions or million dollar deals, but gradually answering my prayers. A few months ago, I suggested how Gambian/African supermarkets lack healthier options, and this week I saw about a 10% boost of one side of the standards or options I called for. Great leaders, including journalists, must measure in circumspect ways: Access (availability) , options, Affordabilities, and production where feasible. Africa is blessed with plant friendly nature, so we must demand our leaders facilitate better food production, not just minimal to mid level availability through importing. Yes, the shortcomings we inherited pressure us to transition through imports for the elite, but we must never ignore the poor. Our good to great desires should be pursued in the spirit of ch.103, or the devils will worship their raw desires against us and/or the poor. Even the middle class homes of the Gambia/Africa should easily access ten to twenty options of plants per major category, let alone our supermarkets, restaurants, hotels, etc. Imagine, everyday, accessing a wide variety of options, ten to twenty different types of edible vegetables, fruits, grains, herbs, nuts, seeds, etc.

Access and Options: Human evolution on food comes with complex history. Almost all cultures either looked down on plants or had very limited knowledge about many plants. Science is discovering many so-called 'weeds' have enormous benefits for humans, but that is too much discussion for this piece. Fast forward to the questionable globalisation under mainly Capitalism that ushered-in supermarkets, a crucial mixed blessing that demands better evolution. The Gambia had supermarkets before I was born, so if I have to spearhead drastic changes of our supermarkets and beyond, while outside the government, it reveals another mixed blessing. I am honored, but largely disappointed by our leaders and hope they will repent, amend, and proclaim in the spirit of ch.2:160 and ch.103.

I do not think I need to waste much time discussing the bad or questionable food and drinks in our supermarkets, but rather demand how to add good ones through educative and mandatory options. You can easily find ten to twenty carbonated drinks and sugary juices in many Gambian/ African supermarkets. We have little knowledge about what the factories and what past leaders knew about the dangers of such drinks, but the science is largely clear today. A caring president or minister of health, or even some caring aspiring opposition leaders should be urging for change like or more than I am doing. Are the importers mistaken or cruel should be tested through re-education. Imagine an ad or special dinner with the top importers: Our country is dealing with a rising number of diabetes and other costly ills and partly due to lack of better options in our supermarkets. Are you happy to be contributing to the suffering and even premature deaths of your customers, or are you willing to offer at least better options? Over 50% of the importers may happily learn, so you may need mild pressure on a percentage and enforcement on a much smaller percentage.

Regulating: You can have a target based on numbers, but a percentage will likely work much better. Only a bad importer will order three different brands of carbonated cranberry, four brands of sugar oriented cranberry juices, no 100% cranberry syrup, no 100% dried cranberry as an example. By demanding 25%, 50%, or xyz of a category must offer good or better options like syrup or dried versions, we usher access or good options. As said, a few months ago, there were virtually no 100% syrup fruits in the top Gambian supermarkets. After my writings, prayers, or coincidentally after the publishing of my articles, which I forwarded to some importers, I saw at least four different syrup options and one new dried fruit in our supermarkets. Imagine if the president or minister of health did the pressure and our lawmakers or policy makers acted rightly? Much more compliance from the importers.

Re-educating The Populace: Our parents and grandparents knew little about the dangers of refined sugar, so they fed themselves that dangerous product. They also fed us the crap in ignorance, but the God of knowledge and options is helping some of us to gratefully help with efforts or be indifferent to the poor, the non-family members, and the children? As a lucky and fairly strong adult, I was able to essentially abandon carbonated drinks, use sugarless tea, and had very limited sugary juices. Our 'uneducated parents' are sometimes worse addicts and may not be able to stop consuming evil 'sugar' without options. Although honey is an option to those who can afford it, I believe syrup-plants may offer more than honey or at least ease the transition from sugar. By buying multiple fruit syrups, I offered my sugar addicted aging parents an option from sugar, but the caring God inspires me to go beyond family, at least on education.

Imagine an Ad from our respective ministry of health: 'Grandma/grandpa, I do not want you sick or die early, please use these fruit syrups as prayer and appreciation of God's favor reaching you... 1. Sweeten your teas and juices with such syrups. 2. Make your sugar-free juices with these syrups, no more sugar leaning juices. 3. Understand the real fruit in these syrups are helpful and should be diversified as balanced diet supplements or seeking... of course, a reverse ad of a caring grandparent to a grandchild will likely help. I believe we can reduce over 70% of our sugar intakes through re-education and meaningful options. Only the caring Lord will help us towards repenting and amending our ways for the better. So let the grateful make the efforts, from individual levels, family levels, national levels, and beyond. Our target from the ad and beyond should display ten to twenty different types of fruit syrups.

Dried Fruits : Again, from the small corner shops to the supermarkets, we inherited the giving of sugar leaning candies to unsuspecting children. It took time for different countries to regulate things like cigarettes around children. I am not calling for a ban on sugary candies, but we must offer the children better than what was offered to us or we are offering, if we are gratefully learning. From the home, corner shops, and supermarkets, I want to be seeing ten to twenty varieties of dried fruits to munch on. A big chunk of fruits are naturally sweet, but seasonal. So the dried versions can be a great option in some seasons and the rival option to candies if we employ the efforts. Even children hate going to the hospital, but guilty parents and guilty politicians offer them sugary candies, but who will repent with efforts and by when? The few fruits that are not naturally sweet can be sweetened with syrup or xyz. Yesterday, I bought a dried cranberry that was sadly sweetened with sugar, but still much better than average candies or their juices. Although the article has an African leaning, I am calling for standards that are yet to be prevalent in the west or anywhere. By offering syrup sweetened cranberries, unsweetened cranberries, and sugar sweetened cranberries, we will offer real options, not gambling through average customers and excuses. The world has seen enough health crises to learn we owe each other at least honest advice, but perhaps also enough good options. From pandemics to costly international health aids, indifferent over commercialisation of food is part of the problem we must confront. Preventive health aids as options must go international more than curative health aids or over commercialisation.

Raising Food Production: As said, unless we significantly raise food production, we will continue to sacrifice the poor in ways that may hunt us. If we seriously desire the ten to twenty options in food per category, then we must help the poorest in the poorest countries. Whereas the syrup I bought was around D350 to D450 ($4 to $5) per bottle of around one liter, the about 2Kg of dried cranberries was D1600 ($22) . Maths declared it was reasonable for even poor Jarga, but can the poorest Gambian be helped in which ways? First, poor Jarga should not see it as $4 per bottle, but minus the sugar option and add the potential sickness cost. So the real difference is around one dollar short term saving or a much higher gain if my God spares me and my parents sickness for making efforts. How many times Jarga openly or silently begged God not to make him and his aging parents+ sick? From the fuel money, expensive tests, expensive medications, horror of seeing pain of your loved ones, etc it was a no brainer for me... Still, I admit many poor Gambian laborers may find it too expensive and the sub-title is about raising production. From farming to working in the factories, transporting, etc will reveal Africans must work harder for themselves and to export for the poor in other countries too.

In respect to the seemingly more expensive cranberries, maths re-declared it as reasonable. Dried fruits often means two to four times of the original. Meaning the about 2kg was actually 4 to 8kg of cranberries, then drying cost of time+, sweeteners, packaging, transportation, etc. From another angle, the health benefits and knowing I can make about 10 liters of higher quality juice from that was convincing to me. Again, the poorest Gambian/African may beg to differ, but will s/he be willing to work hard if a solid plan is unveiled? If we provide you with seeds and land, will you be willing to work hard enough for the poor or barely for even the fairly rich? An ignorant Gambian or xyz farmer may insist s/he should be able to sell at the retail rates of today. Some of the poor are guiltier than they understand, but some of them can be re-educated in ways we may have to skip essential details in this article.

Since our subparagraph is about raising production, should the government, the importers, the Gambians in the diaspora, the tourists, the NGOs, etc be tasked to help? Check the top ten countries that are growing cranberries, blueberries, or xyz to have an idea where to get the seeds and make the efforts of research for availability and affordability. About 50 bags of cranberry seeds to 50 farmers from fifty districts is for pioneers who believe in efforts, not followers who complain. Only the farmer who can sell the raw cranberries of about 4kg for about D300 deserves help. I do not need to remind you the costs involved to re-sell to poor Gambians or poorest Ghanaians and beyond at better than what you considered too much? Educate them on the verified benefits of the polyphenols and other benefits of cranberry, including potential super aid in detoxifying and getting rid of bacteria... Jarga! How could you forget the amazing taste of countless plants even if you were guaranteed permanent high health and no more sickness? Farm/garden for your health or stop complaining about the cost of pharmaceutical drugs that went through a much harder process.

I am not totally against importing and exporting food products, but I think all plant based food products should be produced in 25 to 50%+ of different countries to have a competitive food pricing and availability. It is very wrong to have about 90% of cranberries coming from rich North America when it can grow in over 50% of the earth. Poorer countries should actually be given priority on food growing, helped with water access, but be reasonably pressured to work harder after mandatory education up to age 18 or 20. Without helping poorer countries on raising production, it means me and elite Africa will have to find ways to 'rob' poorer Africans to buy cranberries, hempseeds, blueberries, goji-berries, pistachios, etc from U.S, China, etc.

Our non-thinking African leaders can sadly claim 'it is the private sectors' responsibility', but you must sometimes help the private sector kick-start industries. You must resist the pressures from your counterparts and consider underground funding+ of daring Africans towards self-sufficiency. Rather than or before having pharmacies with hundreds of man made medications, we must ascertain importing and production of tens of plants per category. Poor Gambia or elite Gambia is ordering chicken, cranberry, hemp, and many things from rich America. We can ask what the government can do, but we can also ask what the Gambians in the u.s can do differently? Sadly, the love level of many Gambians are at family level, so they consider my type useless for caring in altruistic ways. Even at family level, many fail in sending quality food of syrup and dried fruits compared to sugary juices and questionable canned processed food they send to families or sales to smaller supermarkets run by Gambians. The biggest supermarkets in the Gambia are still largely owned by foreigners, but we should enter the competition only if we can make it better from quality, availability, and affordability. I dare you to send this article to Gambian/Africans in the diaspora to consider sending seeds to African family members or schools with agricultural gardens? How many Gambians in our agricultural departments travel to different countries and refuse efforts on bringing seeds or seedlings for exploration or research in the Gambia?

Presently, I know no Gambian supermarket that offers hemp seeds for health, but hemp beauty products have been here for about five years. It reveals our importers ignore health for beauty. I fault the Gambia government for their cowardly and arrogant stand on hemp legalization for production. However, I think by importing hempseeds from the u.s or Ghana+, and our questionable media re-educating Gambians, can shift our average terrible mindset about hemp towards legalization. Once 25% to 50% of Gambians consume different forms of hemp seeds and are educated about the health benefits, some of them will repent. Our compromise through importing must be in the open or it may take longer for the sleeping guilty Gambians to give the greenlight to our cowardly politicians. Our seniors will greatly benefit, but almost every Gambian or African will likely benefit.

Similarly, countless Gambians are going to China for countless things, but not importing the countless dried plants China offers, let alone the seeds and seedlings that may work here. Gooseberries, goji-berries, and many other nice plants exist in Asia, but they rather bring processed rubs and other OK to questionable medications?

Name or assign ten to twenty new or limited vegetables you want to produce much more in the Gambia and make the efforts through seed providing to fifty districts under cameras and with competition. Similarly, Name or assign ten to twenty fruits, grains, herbs, nuts, seeds, etc for attainable earthly heaven, not just praying for heaven while you largely ignore the poor, from local governments to international governments.

I am not sure if president Trump or most western leaders can shift from blaming the poor and restricting access with lies against the poor, but are there private citizens who are willing to work with me and my type in different countries?

Proverbs 14:31
'Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker,

but whoever is kind to the needy honors God '. How many oppress the poor or support their oppressing through bad systems, bad laws, or bad policies? How many show contempt to the poor or the maker of the poor and the rich in which perspectives? How many are kind or oppose open-chance kindness to the poor around the poor?

I am not as demanding as Jesus (pbuh) in some ways, because I am only asking you to shift about ten to xyz percent of your AI or defence spending towards providing water for year-round farming to the poor, seeds for self feeding and potential export, basic knowledge sharing for needed production factories on needs to reduce deadly migration, global health crises, wars, etc.

Mathew 19:21: Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

To my Muslim brothers and sisters, there are countless beautiful verses that urge us to care for the poor and the oppressed. As the Lord and the angels watch over us, how are we conscientiously measuring to standards and our counterparts around the world? Where are the Muslim billionaires in respect to choosing a few countries and making formidable examples for replications?

Further on regulations, I do believe the Gambia and many African countries must raise our food handling quality for our own health and potential exporting. We need both education and a stronger culture of cameras, plus regulations to boost our collective health. From raising food packaging at the local market level, to also a new level of collective policing of supermarkets. By demanding supermarkets having a signboard with numbers to report to, expired or dangerous food can be better handled. With or without body cameras, if I see an expired product on the shelves of the supermarket, why do you want me to do it in the hard or old way? I want to send you and/or the manager a verifiable picture, time stamp of reporting, and a harder challenge to our corrupt officials tasked to help police them. Will you share a discount/fine where need be? Besides dated products, if I see a visibly spoiled produce (plants) in the supermarkets, only an indifferent government will see it as customers' responsibility to reject buying bad items. Leaders must understand some business folks are indifferent or cruel, plus some customers are stupid and gamble beyond themselves. The corrupt business person may discount such bad produce to tempt the ignorant, but when the citizens get sick, they can spread diseases and cost the indifferent state much more. Better you turn that 'spoiled' food to manure. My point is do not over regulate, but a state that under regulates businesses, especially on essentials like food, is not just stupid but also implicitly cruel. We must repent and amend while the Kind Lord offers us knowledge and opportunities.

Although health is beyond food or consumption, no sane person will deny food is central to our health. So you cannot be a president, minister of health, senior officer, or even a caring knowledgeable person and refuse to ask how we can uplift the health of every citizen by doing much better than our predecessors? What educational health measures president Barrow or xyz did versus ignored until when? What healthier food Barrow, Samateh, or xyz tried to introduce versus ignore how many good suggestions? I have repeatedly called for preventive health centres that will include exercise equipment+ for every district and it fell on deaf ears until when? A few months ago, the very mother of president Barrow was involved in a shameful health related treatment that president Barrow badly handled. As president, not many people around you may tell you the truth, but you must listen to the best of your citizens who have proven or seem to care even beyond our precious country we are tested with. You must care beyond your family and I mean beyond wishes and questionable prayers. After praying for guidance and the kind Lord reveals feasible steps, take actions through repent and amend... Not one of your advisors loves you or the Gambia more than I do, but I still must love truth and justice more than you and questionable Gambians.

Even the traditional plants of the Gambia, especially trees, should be produced much more. If we do the maths considering our rising population and world demand, we need much more baobab trees and beyond, and the government must smartly urge on how and why limited production is hurting us and may hurt us much more. On plants like Mango, we need more dried mangoes through commercial or home dehydration at district to home levels. We must work harder, try to give to the world, not just take.

Which Gambian importers+ will order nutritional yeast (not ordinary baking yeast) for health+ or who will start the home or production factory in the Gambia and which countries? Our importers are sometimes with very limited knowledge about many things, so we need governments and journalists helping them understand our needs and healthy wants. Why is Arab Africa producing a big chunk of artichoke and I am yet to even see fresh imported artichoke in the Gambia? I do not buy the excuse that Gambians are poor for almost any food or drink import. We see them importing expensive alcohol against our health, so demanding healthy imports is reasonable. Which ministry or business person will consider funding a preventive health store in and beyond the Gambia? How about a beach front vegan restaurant, resort, or hotel? Evolution demands our governments stop forwarding excuses, claiming certain goods will not work in the Gambia, and start appreciating thinkers beyond words and whispers. May God transform my life and those with me more than I try to help every trying spirit and far beyond my country. Our small world demands broader care and loving beyond our species where feasible or needed. May God bless Showlove Trinity: let's learn, let's work, let's have fun.

By Jarga Kebba Gigo
An Activist and Transformer
Author of Juts Quhr-aahn