Onion farmers in Zaare and Nyariga in the Bolgatanga Municipality of the Upper East Region say they are facing significant losses as large quantities of their produce rot on farms due to the absence of ready markets.
The farmers, who cultivate onions under the Irrigation Company of Upper Regions (ICOUR) Vea Irrigation Scheme, are calling on the government to urgently intervene and help them sell their harvest.
According to them, all efforts to secure buyers have failed, leaving their produce to deteriorate in the fields. Many say they took loans to finance production and risk losing their investments if immediate action is not taken.
The irrigation belt, which stretches from Bolgatanga through the Tono irrigation area to Vea in the Bongo District, supports large-scale vegetable farming, including onions, tomatoes, and peppers. Farmers rely on year-round irrigation from the Vea Dam and its canal systems.
However, despite a successful harvest, farmers say access to markets remains a major challenge. Attempts to transport produce to markets have also been hampered by pricing disagreements with traders.
“You can see the farm; there is no market for the onions, and no one is coming to buy. We don’t understand. Look at how the onions are going bad and drying up. We borrowed money to start this, and now we don’t know how we will recover,” said farmer Tahiru Ayuuba.
Another farmer, Salima Adamu, said the situation has persisted despite shifting from other crops.
“We were farming tomatoes, but buyers stopped purchasing them and went to Burkina Faso. Now we have switched to onions, but still there is no market. Look at how the onions are ripe, yet we cannot sell them. How will I farm next time? The government should come to our aid. We are pleading,” she said.
Farmers also indicated that traders no longer visit the farms to negotiate prices, leaving them without any opportunity to sell.
A visit to the farms in Zaare and Nyariga showed large quantities of onions drying up and going to waste. Farmers explained that, due to the lack of proper storage facilities, they can only harvest when there is a ready market.
They warned that if the situation persists, many farmers could lose their entire investments, potentially discouraging others from engaging in vegetable farming in the area.
A1 Radio | 101.1 Mhz | Moses Anaba Azubire | Bolgatanga
