Gambians are gearing up for a grand celebration of the prestigious award presented to the country by the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations on June 9 2015, in Rome, Italy, during the 39th Session of its conference. The Gambia received such award twice between November 2014 and June 2015 in recognition of the country's efforts in reducing malnutrition and undernourishment to less than 5% in 2015 and the MDG 1c target of reducing the prevalence of undernourishment, made possible by the President's proactive and inspirational leadership. The Gambia reduced the prevalence of undernourishment from 13.3% in 1990-92 to 6% in 2012-2014; at a time when the proportion of undernourishment in the world population stands at 11.3% and in Africa at 20.5%. Upon receiving the award, Professor Jammeh dedicated it to the farming community in general and to women farmers in the Central, Upper, Lower River and the West Coast regions. Again in June 2015, The Gambia was conferred another award for reducing malnutrition and under-nourishment to less than 5%. A lineup of activities is scheduled for the celebrations of this achievement in Kanilai commencing this Thursday, August 27 to Sunday 30th. This latest award was presented to the government of The Gambia almost the same time the African Union (AU) also awarded the country, recognising her attainment of MDG 9 - gaining access to clean and drinkable water within fifteen minutes' walk, which award was handed over to The Gambia during the AU Summit in South Africa. Readers would recall that the President received the first award towards the end of last year and for many analysts, these quantum achievements didn't come as a surprise in that the Second Republic, under the stewardship of Professor Jammeh, has been prioritising the agriculture sector. This is because not only is agriculture the biggest employer of Gambians (70%), it is also the mainstay of the Gambian economy, contributing almost 30% to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The leadership's argument is anchored on the fact this sector is the single biggest area with enormous potential to put hunger at bay only if the resources are well channeled and the opportunities are exploited. The government has been consistent with its policy towards agriculture, and over the years, it has crafted many programmes to kick hunger out. Such programmes include: Operation Feed Yourself; Back to The Land and the most recent Vision 2016 food self-sufficiency agenda. On receiving the award on behalf of the Gambian leader in Rome, the speaker of the National Assembly of The Gambia, Hon. Abdoulie Bojang said the government under the pragmatic leadership of President Jammeh since 1994 continues to recognise agriculture as an important pre-requisite for socio-economic development and progress to the extent that a number of operations have been launched by the President himself. "Against this background, the government continues to reposition agriculture in its development programme and provide as much as it can to ensure the full participation of Gambians, particularly women and youths in agriculture," he told the award ceremony in Rome. Fighting poverty and achieving zero hunger, he added, is a major priority of President Jammeh; hence, The Gambia government has introduced a number of initiatives to ensure inclusive social protection and sustainable agricultural development especially for the rural and peri-urban populace. "It goes without saying that the Gambia's Vision 2016 is on course and when achieved, it will not only create significant employment for the youthful population of the country but will as well create wealth, generate foreign exchange and ultimately improve the livelihood of the population," Speaker Bojang further said. The November 2014 award was handed to The Gambia alongside Ethiopia, Gabon, Iran, Kiribati, Malaysia, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico and the Philippines for reaching the MDG-1 target; and Brazil, Cameroon and Uruguay for meeting the World Food Summit goal.