Ghana to depend on Niger for onions due to government's failure to invest in production – PFAG

The Programme Officer of the Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana (PFAG), Dr. Charles Nyaaba has said that Ghana will have to depend on Niger for onions, despite the closure of its borders.

According to him, this is because government has not invested in onion production to the extent of becoming independent of foreign support.

“When you come to onions, I doubt if any research is done to improve the varieties that we’re using. So, attention has not been there and the government itself has not actually invested in onion production,” he was quoted by myjoyonline.com.

Dr. Nyaaba noted that even though some Ghanaian universities could conduct research into the production of onions, it will take a few years to be done.

“In a very short term, I think we still have to rely on Niger for the seed. The variety that we need usually takes five to six years before they’ll be able to come out with the variety that they want. So that will take some time,” he explained.

Due to the closure of the Benin border, over 500 sacks of onion have reportedly gone bad in the Ashanti Region.

The closure of Niger's border has led to delay in movement of goods for several days.

The onion sellers have since been forced to either dispose of the rotten onions or sell them at reduced prices.

A sack of onion which was being sold at GH¢1,300 is now being sold as low as GH¢100 at some markets in the Ashanti region.

Truck drivers said they could not cross the Benin border with their fully loaded trucks of onions and other foodstuff due to the political tensions in Niger.

“We spent ten days at the Benin border, so the onions have turned bad. Onions start to go bad within four days. The Ghana Ambassador came to intervene, which is why we were allowed to pass through the border, but it was too late. We have lost a lot of money. About 220 bags of onions have all gone bad,” one of the truck drivers Seidu Sule was quoted by citinewsroom.com.

SSD/MA

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