–Ghana Imports Not Less Than 30 Trucks of Onion Per Day, Each Truck Carrying 350 Bags
The Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana (PFAG), has called for the government’s intervention to put measures in place for peasant farmers as prices of onions rise.
Ghana imports at least 30 trucks of onions per day, each truck carrying 350 bags. Currently, three pieces of onion at the market are sold for GH₵5, depending on the size, while seven pieces go for GH₵10.
Mr Bismark Nortey, the Executive Director of PFAG, in an interview with The High Street Journal, said, that currently the Association is faced with several issues hence the government must address these outlined challenges to produce food items for the country.
He attributed the worrying importation situation to a lack of reliable sources of water and irrigation systems, the high cost of seed, fertilizer, land tilling and the lack of storage facilities.
These situations he said were prudent for the government to address to stop the importation of onions from neighbouring countries like Mail and Niger.
The Executive Director said farmers only produce during the raining seasons which are June and July, after these months Ghana begins to import from neighbouring countries.
This means, from October and November Ghana relies on Mali and Niger for Onion until another rainy season which is June and July, making Ghana dependent for ten months.
Speaking about some comparisons, he said in 2020 to plough one acre of land was GH₵1,000 but now a farmer will need GH₵5,000 to plough one acre of land, he asks the question, How will a farmer survive?
Adding that “now a fertilizer costs at GH₵500”.
Discussing the price of onions, Mr Nortey said last year one gram of onion was GH₵250 but now one gram is to GH₵C900, “this is why onions are expensive on the market these days”, he added.
Nonetheless, the lack of storage facilities for farmers is another major concern, he explained by saying that, after harvesting these onions, farmers do not have storage facilities, therefore, causing half of the onions to rot if not bought in time or sent to the market.
“So only half of the onions are brought to the market”, however, these post-harvest losses cause food insecurity in the country.
When asked about the actions taken by the Association despite crying out loud without any response, he said the Association took to the Minister of Food and Agriculture to put forward the challenges and solutions to curtail the importation of onions yet “not a single solution has been implemented”.
However, recently, the Bank of Ghana announced that inflation in the economy was due to high food prices, https://thehighstreetjournal.com/bog-attributes-recent-inflation-rise-to-food-price-pressures/
Food prices rose by 22.8% in October, driven by a 0.3% month-on-month increase, while non-food inflation remained steady at 21.5%. Core inflation, which excludes volatile items such as energy, utilities, and food, eased to 19.1%, signalling some stabilization in underlying inflation trends.
However, the BoG acknowledged that challenges in both food and non-food pricing persist.
Meanwhile, the PFAG Executive Director said that the country could produce enough onions for the country despite climate changes, “if all the issues are addressed we will not import any onions into the country”, he added.
“Even though the Association is helping, the government must also intervene to ensure a complete solution”, he said.
He, therefore, called on the government to solve these problems amicably to ensure the constant production of onions in the country.
