Zambia: Government ban on onions creates opportunities for growers

The Zambian government's decision to impose a ban on onion imports has given some growers the opportunity to expand their business. "I am currently supplying my onions to Lusaka, Ndola and Kitwe, including the Petauke district," said onion grower Jastone Ngoma from Chipata. Ngoma says that before the ban was imposed, he only supplied Lusaka and parts of the Eastern Province because the market was over-supplied with imported onions. However, he is very happy that the government has created a favorable environment for the local growers, as their onions can now be sold, while in the past some of the vegetables were lost. Although the local growers are not quite able to meet the growing demand for onions due to the loss of imports, some are thinking about expanding their cultivation to meet the demand. "I'm a happy grower, I'm expanding my onion ...