Onion farmers in Karatu District, Arusha Region, are grappling with the drastic fall of the producer prices of their cash cow.
The crop is now selling at Sh50,000 per bag from Sh180,000 to Sh200,000 a few months ago. The district agricultural officer attributed the shock fall of producer prices to a drop of buyers from Kenya, the main market for onions from the area.
“This is in sharp contrast with the situation during the rainy seasons when Karatu is flooded with buyers from Kenya,” he said. During such periods buyers from Kenya could be seen queueing to buy the commodity which besides being consumed there is re-exported overseas.
Onion farming in Karatu District, notably at Mang’ola Village on the shores of Lake Eyasi, has had its good moments until recent years. The farmers were earning about Sh150,000 to Sh200,000 per bag stuffed with the produce and sold mainly to Kenya.
Source: The Citizen