Owing to the seizure of the supply of agricultural products from the northern parts of the country to the South and the attendant short supply and high cost of affected commodities in Onitsha markets, consumers have resorted to alternative means of survival.
Products like cow meat which ts market price has risen astronomically have suddenly forced consumers to embrace the consumption of chickens which are of much lower prices than beef.
Some of the residents in Onitsha who spoke to our correspondent attributed the sudden change of choice to the high cost of beef in the market.
One of the buyers at Ose- Okwodu foodstuff market, Onitsha, Mrs. Ekwutosi Okoye said in an interview that for her family to survive, her husband has approved the purchase and consumption of chicken as an alternative source of protein for all food delicacies.
She explained that chicken was even more affordable as one could purchase a full chicken with about N2000 or N2500 for old layers as the case may be. The woman explained that her family resorted to chicken as fish had become very expensive in the market.
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She emphasised that a full chicken could serve a pot of soup and stew. Having discovered a new way of family survival, she called on wives to think deeply about the survival of their families.
She, however, expressed fear that fowl sellers might start hiking the price of their commodities because of the latest trend.
Another consumer, Mr.Emeka Odosuala said because of the high cost of tomatoes in the market he has now abandoned the consumption of oil palm nut which he uses for cooking delicacies like ofe-akwu (local stew) and for bitter leaf and ora soup.
Chairman, Onitsha Grain Seeds Dealers Association, Chief Godwin Okonkwo (Ohamadike) told our correspondent on the phone that the ban on the supply of northern agricultural products was affecting their pace of business, he called on southeast Governors to utilize the opportunity of the food blockade to develop agriculture.
He noted that the experience should spur-up governors as a challenge to encourage farming and wholesome agriculture in the entire South East. Chairman, Ose- Okwodu FoodStuff Market, Onitsha, Chief Anthony Onwuetiaka in his observation called for sensitisation of the people on the importance of investing in agriculture.
He observed that the weeklong food blockade should reinvigorate the spirit of farming in people and called on the governors of the Southern states to invest more in agriculture in order to experience food surplus as well as feed the masses for a healthy nation.
