A growing shortage of donkey meat in parts of the Upper East Region is driving up prices and raising concerns among traders and dealers who depend on the animal for their daily economic activities.
A visit by a Bolga FM reporter to some communities revealed a sharp decline in the availability of donkey meat, commonly used to prepare light soup.
The shortage has been linked to a significant drop in the number of donkeys transported from neighbouring Burkina Faso into Ghana. Traders and women in the Bongo Soe community said the scarcity has significantly damaged their livelihoods.
For decades, donkeys have been a key source of meat and an important ingredient in light soups sold in markets across the region. Yet, recent changes in supply dynamics have undermined that tradition.
“We travel from Bongo Soe to Bolga Duluo around 3:00 p.m. to join the line and sleep at the slaughteryard for the next day,” said Madam Agana Asomapoka, a trader. “We used to buy donkey intestines for GH¢250, but now they sell for between GH¢450 and GH¢700.”
She added that the situation has forced women selling donkey light soup to raise prices, charging between GH¢5 and GH¢10 per bowl to cope with increased costs.
The sharp rise in the cost of donkey meat is primarily driven by shortages of donkeys in the Upper East Region following reduced cross-border transport. The scarcity has inadvertently fuelled an illicit underground trade and significant price inflation.
Traders also use donkeys to access markets and transport goods in remote areas. The current shortage is already affecting agricultural productivity and slowing market activities, sources said.
Madam Asomapoka appealed to government authorities to intervene, saying that selling donkey light soup is the only business many women rely on to feed their families and pay their children’s school fees.
Donkey scarcity in northern Ghana has drawn growing concern from conservation advocates, who warn that unregulated trade, particularly for donkey skins exported for use in foreign industries, is threatening local donkey populations and rural livelihoods. A conservation project launched in 2022 in the Upper East and North East regions has documented noticeable declines in donkey numbers, prompting calls to close commercial slaughter facilities and enforce stronger protections for the animals.
Experts underscore that donkeys play vital roles in agriculture and transport for smallholder farmers, and their depletion poses risks beyond the soup market. With donkeys’ low reproductive rates and long gestation periods, populations are slow to recover, heightening the risk of local extinction if current pressures continue. Advocates have urged Parliament to enact legislation to regulate donkey slaughter and halt the commercial export of hides, arguing that without such measures, traditional livelihoods and food systems in the Upper East Region could suffer further.
A1 Radio | 101.1 Mhz | Moses Anaba Azubire | Bolgatanga
