10-15-2025, 08:27 PM
As I drove through the quiet villages of Rano and Kibiya LGAs, something kept catching my eyes - these little curved shelters filled with onions, standing proudly beside the farms.
Locals call them Gadawa.
I saw them everywhere — in Bima, Ɓure, Kalanbu, Dakatsalle, and Doguwar Kwana. Each Gadawa can hold roughly 30 to 40 bags of onions, the farmers told me.
Inside, onions rest neatly on raised wooden platforms. Above them, tarpaulin or woven mats form a curved roof - a simple but clever design that keeps the onions dry, airy, and safe from the harsh sun, rain, and pests.
It’s the kind of smart local engineering you can’t help but admire — born from experience, not textbooks.
Farmers said they went big on onion planting this year, hoping for another season of sweet profits like last year’s. But the market turned. Supply is high, demand is low.
Now, the Gadawa are full, and so are the worries.
In some villages, onion prices have crashed hard. Just a few days ago, I bought over half a 50kg cement bag - more than four big “kwano” - for only ₦500 in Kibiya. The same would sell for ₦1,000 each in Kano city just a while back.
That’s farming for you - one season smiles, the next tests your patience. 🌾
By Misbahu El-Hamza, September 30, 2025
https://www.facebook.com/100000657245497...l/?app=fbl
Locals call them Gadawa.
I saw them everywhere — in Bima, Ɓure, Kalanbu, Dakatsalle, and Doguwar Kwana. Each Gadawa can hold roughly 30 to 40 bags of onions, the farmers told me.
Inside, onions rest neatly on raised wooden platforms. Above them, tarpaulin or woven mats form a curved roof - a simple but clever design that keeps the onions dry, airy, and safe from the harsh sun, rain, and pests.
It’s the kind of smart local engineering you can’t help but admire — born from experience, not textbooks.
Farmers said they went big on onion planting this year, hoping for another season of sweet profits like last year’s. But the market turned. Supply is high, demand is low.
Now, the Gadawa are full, and so are the worries.
In some villages, onion prices have crashed hard. Just a few days ago, I bought over half a 50kg cement bag - more than four big “kwano” - for only ₦500 in Kibiya. The same would sell for ₦1,000 each in Kano city just a while back.
That’s farming for you - one season smiles, the next tests your patience. 🌾
By Misbahu El-Hamza, September 30, 2025
https://www.facebook.com/100000657245497...l/?app=fbl