Gambia: Farmers Abandon Border Farmlands As Gambia-Senegal Boundary Dispute Leaves Communities in Limbo

What the report says

AllAfrica, republishing a Foroyaa report from Serrekunda dated 22 July 2026, says farmers in several Gambian border communities are leaving prepared fields uncultivated amid renewed uncertainty over the country’s boundary with Senegal. The report focuses on areas in the West Coast and Central River regions, where residents say land used for generations often lies close to, or across, the international frontier.

According to Foroyaa, concerns have grown after recent tensions, including a July 2026 incident in which Senegalese security personnel reportedly entered Bullock Village and damaged part of a fence around a Gambian military post. Residents in Bullock, Foni Gifanga and Darsilami told the newspaper that they fear military operations, unclear territorial claims and possible restrictions on access to farms during the rainy season.

The report links some insecurity in Foni Gifanga to operations in Senegal’s Casamance region targeting fighters of the Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance. In Bullock and Darsilami, residents described uncertainty over whether land beyond military posts or straddling the border could still be farmed safely. The article also cites reports by social media users and The Alkamba Times alleging that Senegalese gendarmes warned farmers in other Central River communities to stop cultivating disputed land.

Foroyaa reports that Gambian authorities have engaged the Joint Military Committee, a bilateral body for cross-border security issues, while talks between Banjul and Dakar continue. The Ministry of Defence has urged calm and restraint. The issue matters because agriculture is central to livelihoods in these border villages, and residents say lack of clear demarcation now threatens planting, harvests and long-standing community arrangements.