Aliero, a town in Kebbi State largely derives its popularity from onion farming and trading activities. While Yauri is known for its rice production, Argungu for its fishing and Kamba for trans-border trading, Aliero has become synonymous with onion production and trade.
It is known as a major onion producing and marketing town within the country and beyond. For a new comer to Aliero, it is simple to identify the predominant occupation among people of the community as youths and elders of the town are seen engaging in onion farming and trade.
The Aliero onion market is the biggest not only in the Northwest but in the entire country. Traders and onion farmers from other communities in the state must take their onions to the Aliero market to sell. At Aliero, the onion planting season is usually in August, immediately after the harvest of millet. Its harvesting period is from December to January.
To boost production, the Kebbi State government during the administration of Senator Adamu Aliero, proposed an International Onion Market in Aliero town. Construction work for the establishment of the market was started but it was abandoned after the expiration of Senator Aliero’s administration.
Years after, a mini onion market was constructed for the traders by the Abubakar Atiku Bagudu administration when it became necessary to move the booming onion trade from the road side where farmers and traders used to gather to buy and sell onions.
Adamu Aliyu, a farmer in Aliero, said the activities of onion farmers do not end at the farms many of them engage in selling it at the market.
“I farm onions and I also buy them from other farmers from Yauri and resell at the Aliero market. This year, I harvested over 40 bags of onions from my farms here at Aliero. I also bought 56 bags of onions from other farmers at Yauri for sale at Aliero. Onion trade is very lucrative here. The reason is that it’s the only market where people from different parts of the country come to buy onions in large quantities daily. They come from different towns in the Southwest and East. Look at those trucks there, they are from Lagos and Ibadan, the other ones are from Ebonyi and Imo in the East. Traders from Maiduguri, Kano and other parts of the North also come here. Traders also come here from from Niger and Benin Republics,” he said.
The onion market is usually open from 9 am. Malam Muhammed Tukur, another onion trader and farmer, said; “It is true we are known to be major producers of onion in the country, but towns like Yauri and Gada are capable of producing more onions than Aliero. We in Aliero started onion farming and trading before any of them realized that it is a lucrative produce. We were already ahead of them and were known as major onion producers, that is why farmers and traders from other communities in kebbi today must bring their onions here to sell. The price of a bag of onions varies here. They range from N11,000, N12,000, N13,000 to N15,000. Last year we sold for as low as N5,000 per bag whereas the year before we sold for as much as from N30,000 to N35,000, it depends on the season. It is God who brings blessings, we had in years past sold a bag of onions for as cheap as N2,000 to N2,500. At sometimes, we had sold the same bag of onion for N23,000 and N24,000. Some farmers here are capable of harvesting 10, 30, 50, 80 and up to 200 bags of onions. This is happening every day throughout the harvesting time and other farmers and traders from other communities are also bringing several bags of onions here daily. For me, I only harvested 40 bags and I bought additional 54 bags from farmers at Yauri. Look at the trucks parked everywhere at the market, they came with onions from other areas of the state and they are taking onions from here to other communities in the North, South and East. Some of them are also taking onions from here to Benin and Niger Republics. An individual trader here can sell from 20 to 60 bags of onion in a day.”
When our correspondent visited the Aliero onion market it was brimming with trading activities. It was difficult entrying the market as all six entrances were blocked by trucks and trailers trying to off-load onions brought from the farms or other communities and those loading onions for traders from Lagos, Maiduguri, Ebonyi, Ibadan, Benin and Niger Republics.
Suleiman Aliero, who displayed bags of onions outside one of the entrances, said: “The situation is like this every day. It is usually difficult for vehicles and people to enter the market because of the many trucks and people who must enter to buy or sell onions. Everyone is trying to find a convenient place in and outside the market to sell or buy. There is nothing we can do to stop the situation. It is the biggest onion market in the state and I am not aware of any other onion market that is bigger than this anywhere in Nigeria”.
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