Farmers in mass onion production to crash price

Farmers in onion producing communities of Kano, Kebbi, Zamfara, Sokoto and Katsina states have embarked on dry season cultivation with the aim of crashing the current high market price of the produce. The crop matures between 75 and 90 days; depending on the variety. World AIDS Day: ‘People Rather Sit With COVID-19 Patients Than An […]

Farmers in onion producing communities of Kano, Kebbi, Zamfara, Sokoto and Katsina states have embarked on dry season cultivation with the aim of crashing the current high market price of the produce.

The crop matures between 75 and 90 days; depending on the variety.

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Daily Trust reports that the  high price of onion reached a record this year with a sack that was sold last year at N15,000 now selling for N51,000 in Kano State, which is even considered as relatively cheaper than in other places like Lagos, Port Harcourt and Abuja.

As essential as it is in cooking, most households are now foregoing onion as the commodity is gradually going out of their reach.

Reasons for current hike

Although onion price goes up during the main planting season in November and December, it has never been this high.

Malam Baba Bala Kubarachi, a farmer at the Kadawa Irrigation Dam in Kano State, explained that the current increase in the price of onion was as a result of early rain seizure experienced this year.

Kubarachi said, “Farming activities, be they formal or informal, have timetables and planned processes. Some farmers usually plant onion towards the end of every rainy season. It is this onion that will be harvested when every onion farmer is planting during the dry season and in such a way the shortage of onion will be covered without much trouble.

“But this year, the rainfall seized early and many farmers were not able to plant, hence the scarcity being experienced currently.”

A long time onion farmer in Kano, Malam Sani Yadakwari, also told Golden Harvest that farmers in onion producing states like Kano, Jigawa, Kaduna, Bauchi, Plateau, Sokoto and Kebbi experienced one or two problems with production this year.

He said almost all the states were affected by either flood or poor rainfall distribution which in turn affected the crop in many areas.

Malam Yadakwari said, “Places like Gwaranyo, some parts of Bagwai and a lot of other places across the onion producing states were affected by flood and this generated a soaring demand for it.’’

It was also learnt that last year, in some parts of onion farming communities in Kebbi State, onion farming suffered setbacks as diseases attacked the crop, which reduced output at harvest.

Our correspondent in the state reports that this discouraged the affected farmers from onion production during the rainy season, which is part of the reason for the current price hike.

High cost of petroleum products, Golden Harvest further learnt, also affected the psychic of the farmers as the cost of fueling pumping machines for irrigation was usually on the high side, and this brought down the number of farmers thereby affecting the supply of the commodity to the market.

An onion farmer in Katsina State, Mohammed Umar, attributed the high price of the commodity to the withdrawal of many farmers from farming the crop in Faskari area owing to insecurity.

One of the farmers explained that, “Fertiliser, particularly NPK, is another headache for onion farmers. The price of fertiliser increases yearly. Last year, a bag of NPK cost about N7,000, but this year it has increased by 100 per cent as a bag is sold at the cost of N14,500.’’

The farmers also said many abandoned onion farming because the crop did not attract good price in the market last year.

Farmers in massive production

Reports from Kebbi, Kano, Katsina, Sokoto, Jigawa, as well as other onion producing states, show that farmers are into massive production of the produce.

When Golden Harvest visited Aliero LGA of Kebbi State, where virtually all the farmers in the area are into onion farming, it observed that locals, including those that have abandoned onion farming, had returned to farm.

Mohammed Ibrahim, a farmer, informed that most onion farms that were abandoned few years back were now being put into use and that the farms were already pointing to a good harvest.

A visit to the Kadawa irrigation site and Danhassan irrigation area in Kano State revealed that onion farmers are busy transplanting the crop.

Malam Muhammadu Mailambu, who has been into onion farming for the past 19 years, said he had not seen a situation like the current hike in onion price before.

He said Nigerians would have to bear with the situation for some weeks as vast onion production had commenced in various states across the federation.

Malam Mailambu said, “As you can see around here, vast lands have been cleared and onion has been transplanted in them. Though it will take like 70 days from now to begin harvest, we are sure that all things being equal, onion scarcity will be a thing of the past very soon.’’

Although, there is security challenge in Faskari area of Katsina State noted for massive cultivation of onion, some farmers are struggling to cultivate the crop, while those in Danja area are also into cultivation.

When will price come down?

Farmers and onion marketers are optimistic that the price of the produce will come down as soon as new commodity starts getting into the market, hopefully December ending or early January.

Mubarak Mohammed, an onion farmer in Kali village in Aliero LGA of Kebbi State, said the price would come down considering the fact that many locals went into farming of the produce this year.

Mohammed said, “The price of onion will soon come down. Majority of the farmers have grown the crop this year. There will be a bumper harvest of onion this season. The crop is grown this year without hiccup, no diseases and the weather proved favourable. By the end of December, new commodity will start to get into the market.”

Another farmer, Mohammed Ibrahim, expressed optimism that the price of onion would come down.

Ibrahim said, “I am optimistic that the price will be normalised. New onion commodity will soon get into the market. Once we start harvest by the end of this month, onion will flood the market.”