Damaturu falls in love with watermelon

Though there is no specific market for fruits in Damaturu, Kanem Trust findings revealed that youth aged between 13 and 25 and many adults have formed groups on most major of the major streets in the state capital selling the fruits to passers by. “For the past twenty years, there was never a time we […]

Though there is no specific market for fruits in Damaturu, Kanem Trust findings revealed that youth aged between 13 and 25 and many adults have formed groups on most major of the major streets in the state capital selling the fruits to passers by.

“For the past twenty years, there was never a time we witnessed bumper harvest of watermelon like this year. It’s really great, many people have found work now because everyday large consignment of the commodity is being brought from farms”, Malam Musa, one of the merchants told Kanem Trust.

He said the major source of the watermelon was Kukareta Village situated about 25 kilometres east of Damaturu where residents dedicated hundreds of farmland hectares for the cultivation of the fruit. “We recently discover that our farms are very fertile and can support the planting and growth of watermelon more than any other fruit or crop”, Bulama Boyi, a resident of the village said.

Also, hundreds of people benefitting from the state government’s Youth Empowerment Farm situated 15 kilometres along Damaturu-Potiskum road have also witnessed large harvest of the fruit even though with little or no knowledge of its economic and health importance apart from the little money they can get from sales.  

A football sized water melon costs as low as N30 while a bigger one hardly exceed N60 and in some instances, one can get a whole piece at just N20 or N15; a development which makes the fruit a delight of everyone with many people buying many pieces to travel out of Damaturu with as a gift for their acquaintances and families.

“The prices varies according to the sweetness of the fruit and sometimes the supply”, Inusa Mahmud, one of the sellers said.

He said farmers from villages competed to bring out the produce to the state capital with the hope of selling them early in order to buy foodstuff and meet up with the expectations of their family. “They don’t want to hoard it that is why it is very cheap especially around this time”, he said.

He said another factor was that most people who farmed the fruit did not have the wirewithal to process, conserve or use the fruit for other purposes. “The reason why it is cheap is because the farmers want to dispose it as soon as they brought it out of the farms for fear of wastage because they don’t have means of preserving them”, Mahmud said.

“The business is seasonal and this time around is wonderful because I am sure many youths will never be redundant again even when the watermelon business finishes which means they will not go back to the crime of living an idle life”, he predicted.

Watermelon business activities were seen thriving around the motor park along Potiskum road; opposite state water board premises along Gujba road as well as many places along Maiduguri and Gashua roads with many pick up vans and trailers loading and uploading.

Because of the availability of the water melon, dealers usually buy in bulk which is measured as “kwarya” where about 100 pieces will be kept in one place and sold at a specified price.

Imam Mohammed, 25, said he was a full time student of Makarantar Allo (Qur’anic school) but decided to venture into the watermelon business which according to him brought a lot of fortunes for him. “I am from Borno State, my parents sent me here to acquire Quranic education and now I have found a source of livelihood which will not distract my attention from my purpose of coming here”, he said. Mohammed Mukhtar,20, said his father had a farm in Kukareta and after the harvest, they decided to bring the produce to Damaturu themselves “in order to avoid the exploitative tendencies of middle men”.

According to him “We planted the seed at the beginning of the raining season and more than 3000 pieces got ripe after just about two months. We brought large consignment here from our village and many people from Lagos, Kaduna, Kano, Abuja and Jos have come and bought large quantities from us which is better than disposing everything at the farm”.    

Ironically, it was gathered that a single watermelon sold at N50 in Damaturu may be sold at N500 or more in Lagos, Port-Harcourt or Abuja. “I think the transport cost matters a lot and apart from that, I believe people living in other parts of the country know the nutritional value of the fruit better”, Mukhtar said.

It was discovered that  the transport cost of a trailer load of watermelon from Damaturu to Lagos or Port-Harcourt ranges from N150,000 to N200,000, a fare far and above the actual cost of the fruit.

A sixty year old Sherrif Ahmad who came from Dapchi in Bursari Local Government Areas of Yobe State said he was not ignorant of the nutritional value of the watermelon and therefore the fruit had remained one of his “irresistible companions”.

According to him, “it helps in regulating blood vessels and circulation and I feel refreshed whenever I take it especially in the morning”, he said.

In his study on “Exploring Important Medicinal Uses for Watermelon Rinds”,  Luis Pons said “an Agricultural Research Service (ARS) study had found that the rinds of watermelon contains citrulline, an amino acid that plays an important role in the human body’s urea cycle, which removes nitrogen from the blood and helps convert it to urine.”

Recent medical research by other scientists has examined whether the citrulline-arginine relationship can be exploited to create treatments for vascular tone problems associated with sickle-cell anemia.

Agnes Rimando, a research chemist at the ARS Natural Products Utilization Research Unit in Oxford, Miss., says the discovery may lead to production of rind-based extract or dietary-supplement products that address arginine- or sickle-cell-related deficiencies. She conducted the research in collaboration with plant physiologist Penelope Perkins-Veazie of ARS’ South Central Agricultural Research Laboratory in Lane, Okla.

The study also reveals that arginine boosts nitric oxide, which relaxes blood vessels and thus may help treat angina and other cardiovascular problems. This intrigues scientists studying blood circulation problems associated with sickle-cell anemia. Arginine has also been credited with boosting muscle growth, improving wound healing, combating fatigue, stimulating the immune system, curing impotence and fighting cancer.

It was also suggested that disorders in the urea cycle can lead to a lethal build-up of proteins such as ammonia in the bloodstream. Arginine or citrulline are often recommended to address these disorders and they are found in watermelon

Rimando says the discovery came early during a study, involving her and Perkins-Veazie’s labs that was aimed at determining the citrulline content of different watermelon varieties.