Onion farmers in Dogon Ruwa community of Kaltungo Local Government Area of Gombe State said they raked in millions of Naira from cultivating the vegetables during dry the season.
According to them, dry season onion cultivation has helped in creating wealth amongst farmers in their community and provided jobs for their youth.
Malam Adamu Muhammadu, the leader of Onion farmers in the community, said though farmers cultivated other crops like rice, maize, sugarcane and wheat, onion cultivation remained the most profitable for them in the community.
Muhammadu said his members had been making a lot of profits from engaging in the vocation annually and “that’s why we cultivate the vegetables here and any onions you see in Gombe Main Market are from here”.
According to him, many of his members make millions of Naira from cultivating the bulb-shaped vegetables and that has created a lot of jobs for both youths and residents of the community.
“Yearly, some Onion farmers here make N2 million, some N5 million and above while some make one million; Onion farming is really profitable to us in Dogon Ruwa community.
“The onions you see in Gombe Market are from here in Dogon Ruwa and we have the capacity to do greater with some level of support.
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“Daily, more than 30 truck loads of onions are being taken from here to Gombe main market and other parts.”
According to him, the vocation has helped in engaging the youth in their community who would have taken to crimes and drug abuse.
He said youths were largely involved in the vocation and “they are making their money and taking care of their households”.
Muhammadu, however, said in recent time, the profits recorded by the farmers had reduced because of the high cost of fertilisers, pesticides, fuel for generators used in irrigating the farms and other inputs.
While commending the Federal and the Gombe State Governments for supporting wheat farmers in the community, Muhammadu appealed for similar support to onion farmers to cultivate more for food security.
Rabiu Isiaka, a young onion farmer from the community, said between 30 and 50 truck loads of onion were being carried to Gombe Market daily.
Isiaka said some farmers on monthly basis, could have five, three or one truck load of the commodity from their farmlands, depending on the sizes of their farms.
“A bundle of spring onion is between N3,500 and N4, 000 here and a truck can take up to 45 bundles so you can imagine the millions of Naira being generated from onion cultivation daily and annually.”
Others who spoke to NAN shared similar experiences while appealing for more support in inputs and the state government’s intervention in electricity supply.
