Cabbage Market is Booming

Hopeways Young Farmers have great success in selling high quality seedlings to the communities. However, this great success has led to an increase in cabbage production in the area bringing the prices down, which has also affected Hopeways Young Farmers.

By Albert Mwewa, NewZ reporter

About 13000 seedlings of cabbage have been supplied to Mansa District in the months of November, December and January.

It has since been observed that the price of cabbage has gone down in Mansa District, in the months of March and April this year.

Currently a bag of cabbage that was costing K27,000 is going between K15,000 and K17,000 per 50 kg. Similarly one head of cabbage previously going at K1500 now costs K1000 and that of K1000 has come down to K800.

Reasons for the low price

A marketeer at Senama Market (in Mansa) said that there was an increase of peasant farmers this year who were growing cabbage as compared to previous years.

Mr. Wilbroad Musanshi, the co-ordinator of the seedling production of Hopeways Senama Young Farmers Co-operative Society, said that they supplied a lot of seedlings in the District. This has resulted in the lower prices.

The co-ordinator further stated that in the months of November, December and January they planted about 6x25 grams packets of cabbage.

This means that about 13000 cabbage seedlings were supplied in Mansa District. The low price of cabbage has also affected Hopeways as they make some of their income from selling cabbage.

The solution to this problem could be to stop the production of cabbage and concentrate on growing seedlings.

As one of the objectives is to increase vegetable production at the community level Hopeways Senama Young Farmers Co-operative Society is hoping to double the production of seedlings. Hence, in future they want to see at least a bed of vegetables at every house in the District.