Gambian agriculture can be described as a classic monoculture; peanuts (groundnuts) are the most valuable agricultural commodity. Land is cleared by the slash-and-burn technique, but farmers practice conservation. Most land is held in common by the villagers. There is a sharp division of labour, with men involved in planting, cultivating, and harvesting cash crops while women cultivate subsistence crops such as cassava (manioc), yams, eggplant, tomatoes, rice, and lentils. There are citrus orchards in the western area near Banjul. The production of peanuts has increased with the wider use of fertilizers and ox- drawn equipment and the introduction of better seeds. In order to diversify the economy, the government has encouraged the production of rice. A pilot scheme was begun in the mid-1960s to introduce plantation oil palm production, but this has had little impact on the national economy. Stock farming, always a factor in the Fulani culture, has also received government support, but factors such as insufficient animal husbandry techniques and the scarcity of suitable pasture and water have limited the size of herds. The drought years of the 1970s and ’80s seriously damaged agricultural production, particularly upriver. The country was not as hard hit as other countries in the region, however, and recovery has been steady. Although the country’s small ocean coastline limits marine fishing, there is some potential for commercial fishing offshore and in the river. Most Gambians are not fishermen, but those who are have been handicapped by inadequate equipment. The government has offered small loans for the purchase of motorized fishing boats and the construction of smoke huts for the processing of bonga (shad, or West African herring), which is exported to other western African states.