A Security Analyst, Dr. Siddiq Edu-Twum, says Ghana needs to use diplomatic means to negotiate for more onions from Niger to augment the shortage in the country.

He said a continuation of the ECOWAS and the Military Junta of Niger, if not stopped for dialogue, will continue to lead to food insecurity within the sub-region, especially with regard to onions.

More than 70 tracks of onions have been locked at the borders of Niger due to the closure of the borders.

Speaking on GBC’s Market Avenue, Dr. Adu Twum called on ECOWAS to use dialogue to resolve the issue.

Dr. Edu-Twum questioned the cost-benefit analysis of the resources to be used by ECOWAS to deploy troops into Niger.

Chairman of the Progressive Onions Sellers Association, Alhaji Sumaila Idi Zan Zeh has stated that, for sometime now, majority of the onions they sell are brought in from neighbouring countries like Niger, Nigeria and Burkina Faso.

“We get our onions from Niger and Nigeria. Due to low rainfall and poor irrigation systems up in the North of Ghana, we don’t have enough onions being produced in the country”, he said.

Alhaji Zan Zeh made this revelation during a tour of the onion market by GBCGHANAONLINE.

He said a bag of onions sell at GH¢700 – GH¢800 and it is due to the fact that their onions are brought from outside of Ghana.

He called on the government to put in place measures that can aid onion farmers in the country grow and produce more to feed the country.

He also advocated for the extension of the government’s One District One Dam policy to rural areas where onions are grown to aid in their irrigation process.

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