By David Johnson
Onion prices have tripled in Sierra Leone in recent months. The hike in this staple vegetable has contributed to the rising costs of living. According to a market survey done by this press, onion is now being sold at NLe10, NLe15 and Le20 for a single one.
Presently, the country is in dire situation as the scarcity of onions in the market reaches an alarming level, leaving many household to cope with the rising prices and the challenges of adapting their meals to the new reality.
Every households are facing a hard time with the rising prices of onions which has been used to sweeten their meals.
This problem has led many households to innovate new cooking techniques to ensure that they prepare meals without the use of onions.
According to inflation report issued by Bank of Sierra Leone this year, the inflation which measures the rise in prices of everything from food to non-food items, inflation has increased from 41.74% in March 2023 to 44.43% in May, 2023. “The increase in inflation reflects depreciation of the currency, the lingering effects of the Ukraine-Russia War, tight global liquidity conditions and domestic supply side constraints”, the Acting Bank Governor, Ibrahim Steven, said in inflation report issued recently, further stating that despite the highlighted problems, inflation is expected to recede towards the end of 2023, consistent with the contractionary stance adopted by both the fiscal and monetary authorities.
While Speaking to this Press, some residents in Freetown, Isatu Mansaray, a mother of 6 who is residing in Cline Town, Kadiatu Fofanah, a mother of 4, who is living in Portee, Adama Sesay, a mother of 3, who is living in Wellington, said that the increase in prices of onion is affecting them greatly.
“Before we used to buy two or three onions for NLe10, but now we are buying one onion for Le10, Le15 and Le20 upwards. This massive price hike is making the staple vegetable unfordable for many households”, said the three residents of Freetown, adding how this has posed a significant effect to their households ‘chop money’.
As a result of this, many households are using other vegetable as a substitute to cook their meals.
Isatu Kamara, a family of 7, who is a petty trader residing in Race Course Community said because of the increase, she is now using ‘cabbage’ as an alternative substitute to prepare meals for her family. “Cabbage is what I am now using as a substitute to onions to prepare meals for my household”, said Isatu Kamara.
Traders at Portee and Dove Cut Markets in the persons of Aminata Conteh, and Mabinty Noah who sell onions, attested that there is indeed shortage of onions in the market. “We are unable to store onions due to its unavailability and the significantly increased in its price”.
They also added that: “About a Month ago, we were buying a bag of onions at NLe800, currently we are buying it for NLe1,500 and it is not even available in the country”.
According to them, when the price of a bag of onions increase, they too have to increase the price for a single onion to the consumers inorder for them to get their returns and make small profit. “If we do not increase the price for a single onion, we won’t be able to get our returns”, she revealed, further maintaining how the shortage of onions is affecting them greatly as they have wanted to buy more, but the shortage of the products in the market could not permit them to do so.
Huballah Antar, an Importer of Onions in Sierra Leone, could not explain the reason for the scarcity for onions in the country, but said that the shortage of the product is a global crisis. “I cannot be in the position to explain what cause the shortage of onions in the market, but all I could say it is a global crisis”, he said, adding that he has imported onions and until now he is yet to get his supply.
However, the shortage of onion has a far-reaching implication not only in SierraLeone, but also countries around the World. Report from Bloomberg indicates that onion prices continue to rise, leading to inflation and impacting the availability and prices of other vegetable and fruits. Countries like Morocco, Turkey, Kazakhstan have taken action to secure onion supplies, but the overall situation remains challenging.
But the scarcity of the product in Sierra Leone is alarming and has exposed the Government failure to support domestic onion production.
It could be recalled that in 2021, the Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Abubakarr Karim, announced that funds had been available for onions productions in Sierra Leone to reduce the high importation of the vegetable.
The Minister said Portloko, Falaba, Moyamba, and Koinadugu had been identified as places for onions productions for which funds had been available to start and scale up the project.
With onions price skyrocketing, what has happened with the project to address the challenge?. Has it become a white elephant project?.
It worth noting that the Former Minister of Agriculture Forestry and Food Security, Professor Monty Jones, highlighted the staggering amount the government spends on importing onions—about fifteen million dollars ($15m).
He advocated for increased support for farmers to cultivate onions and other essential commodities to meet market demand.
As a result of this challenge, it is important that there is need for strategic planning and investment in the agricultural sector to foster self-sufficiency which will help to reduce the country’s dependency on imports.
Agricultural thinkers have suggested the Implementation of irrigation projects as the viable solutions to address the challenges posed by seasonal variations and climate conditions of onion production.
According to one Agriculturist, Philip Kallay, he cited the rainy as a contributing factor to the hike in onion prices, revealing that whenever there is heavy rainfall, onion crops do not do well. “Onion crop only do well in October and November when there is minimal rainfall”, said the Agriculturist.
An Onion farmer in Songo, Kemoh Sesay, stated the difficulties he is facing in cultivating onions. “The land am planting onion is waterlogged land which does not favour onion growth”, he said, and disclosing about the post-harvest preservation of the product as another impediment and also calls for proper ventilation to prevent the spoilage of the products.
The severe effect of onion shortages in Sierra Leone has led to the skyrocketing prices of the products which has affected the daily ‘chop money’ of many households.
Conclusively, this situation has pushed some households to abandon onions entirely in the cooking, while others have created alternative substitute to still prepare their meal. To address the underlying problem, the government and partners must intervene and support local farmers to boost domestic onion production which will help to mitigate future shortages of the products.
