Privacy Policy

Last updated: July 2026

1. Who we are

This Privacy Policy applies to the DoCD National Cooperative Digital Platform operated by the Department of Cooperative Development (DoCD), under the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock & Food Security of the Republic of The Gambia. Our office is at Cape Point, Bakau, The Gambia. Contact: docd20212030@gmail.com or +220 4498987 / 9968218.

The platform includes the public website (cooperative directory, certificate verification, news, policies, publications, galleries, insights, contact/inquiries, and partner API documentation), the staff portal used by DoCD officers, and the administration portal used by system administrators.

2. Information we collect

Depending on how you use the platform, we may process:

• Account and access data — username, name, email, role, department or cooperative affiliation, authentication details (including multi-factor authentication where enabled), session and security events.
• Public inquiries — name, contact details, subject/topic, and message content submitted through the Contact form or related inquiry workflows.
• Cooperative and programme records — registration, membership, executive, compliance, certificate, private individual (farmer), inputs/input-dealer, HR, and related operational data entered by authorised staff for DoCD’s statutory mandate.
• Technical data — IP address, browser/device information, approximate access times, and security logs needed to operate, secure, and troubleshoot the service.
• Cookies and similar technologies — essential cookies for security, forms (CSRF), and signed-in sessions; and, only if you choose “Accept all” on the cookie banner, a first-party analytics cookie (client_id) used to measure public-portal visits. You can use the portal with essential cookies only.

3. Why we use your information

We use personal and organisational information to:

• Operate the national cooperative registry and related DoCD programmes
• Respond to public inquiries and assign them to the appropriate DoCD units
• Issue, manage, and allow verification of cooperative and related certificates
• Publish public sector information (directory profiles, insights, news, policies, publications) where disclosure is appropriate
• Authenticate users, enforce roles and permissions, and protect accounts against misuse
• Maintain audit trails, improve service reliability, and meet legal or regulatory obligations

4. What we publish publicly

Some cooperative and sector information is intentionally public—for example directory listings, aggregate Insights statistics, news, policies, publications, galleries, and certificate verification results for a certificate number you choose to look up. Individual personal records for private individuals/farmers and sensitive internal staff records are not published on the public portal.

5. Sharing and disclosure

We do not sell personal information. Information may be shared with authorised DoCD staff and system administrators as needed for their duties; with partner systems through the Partner API only under controlled credentials and agreed scopes; and with law-enforcement or oversight bodies when required by Gambian law. Service providers who host or support the platform may process data solely to deliver those technical services under DoCD’s direction.

6. Retention

We retain account, registry, inquiry, audit, and programme records for as long as needed for DoCD’s operational, archival, and legal purposes. Inquiry and security logs may be kept for investigation and accountability. When data is no longer required, it is deleted or archived according to DoCD procedures.

7. Security

We apply administrative and technical controls appropriate to a government digital service, including authenticated access, role-based permissions, optional multi-factor authentication, session and password policies, and activity monitoring. No online system can be guaranteed completely secure; users must also protect their credentials and devices.

8. Your choices and requests

If you have a staff or admin account, you can update certain profile and security settings from within the portal. For corrections to cooperative or programme records, contact DoCD. To ask about access, correction, or deletion of personal information we hold about you (where applicable), email docd20212030@gmail.com or use the Contact page.

9. Children

The platform is intended for adults and organisations engaging with DoCD services. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children for public portal accounts.

10. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy to reflect changes in the platform, law, or DoCD practice. The “Last updated” date above will change when we do. Continued use of the platform after an update constitutes notice of the revised policy.

11. Contact

Department of Cooperative Development (DoCD)
Cape Point, Bakau, The Gambia
Email: docd20212030@gmail.com
Phone: +220 4498987 / 9968218
Hours: Monday–Friday, 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM