Claim: “Agriculture attracts an increase of 84% in 2026 from 2025, the largest allocation in the last ten years.”
Source: Finance Minister Seedy Keita
Verdict: Mixture
Claim
On Friday, 31st October 2025, during the presentation of the 2026 Draft Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure before the National Assembly, the Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs, Seedy Keita, stated that “agriculture attracts an increase of 84% in 2026 from 2025, having an allocation of D1.77 billion in 2026; the largest allocation in the last ten years.”
Watch from the 28th to the 29th minute mark.
Background Context
A national budget is a financial plan that outlines a government’s expected revenues and planned expenditures for a given fiscal year. It serves as the main tool for implementing national policies and priorities, showing how public resources will be raised and distributed across different sectors such as health, education, agriculture, and infrastructure.
The government budget is financed through two main components: Government Local Funds (GLF) and donor or loan-funded projects. GLF represents funds directly financed by the government, while donor and loan funds come from external partners such as the World Bank, IFAD, and the African Development Bank.
Historically, agriculture in The Gambia has largely depended on external funding, and this trend appears to continue in 2026.
FactCheck
To verify the Finance Minister’s claim, our reporter compiled data from the last ten years (2016 to 2026) to compare how much the government has allocated to agriculture in both the All Funds and GLF budgets.
The data above shows that Agriculture’s GLF funding increased by D809 million, from D961 million in 2025 to D1.77 billion in Cabinet’s 2026 Draft Budget proposal submitted for parliamentary approval.
In fact, this is the first time Agriculture’s GLF funding has exceeded the D1 billion mark. Based on this, next year’s Agriculture GLF appropriation represents an 84% increase, subject to parliamentary approval.
However, this is not the highest percentage increase recorded. In 2023 and 2018, Agriculture GLF funding increased by 87% and 91% respectively. The percentage difference is relative and should not be confused with the actual monetary increase.
Conclusion
It is true that agriculture GLF Funding increased by 84% from 2025 to 2026 in the Cabinet’s 2026 Draft Budget submitted for approval. However, higher percentage increases were observed in 2023 and 2018.
Verdict: MIXTURE
- Editor’s Note: A mixture is a conclusion that the claim(s) are a mix of accurate and inaccurate content.
