In a report carried out by The Guardian, Shoppers at Kaneshie market in Accra, are buying less, prices are rising, and dealers’ profits are declining. Speaking with a group of yam vendors sheltering under canopies, 32 year old Rita Oboh, who has worked at this spot, or one nearby, since she was six, following in the footsteps of her mother who also traded yams said “My mother lived good, really good,” Oboh says with pride. “She built houses, she looked after everybody, her family, people who relied on her.
She was successful” but now “This used to be a prosperous trade, now everything is a struggle.”
Nearly all are far more expensive than they used to be. Food prices in Ghana have risen by 30% over the last year.
Another Trader 54-year-old Felicia Appiah said “If people bought three before, now they only buy one. “I earn 20% of what I earned five years ago.”
The cost of the yams has increased, but so have the delivery fees and bus expenses to and from the market and home. The women steadily lowered expenses as the profits decreased, notably by consuming less food.
“I used to eat three times a day, now only once,” says Oboh, her words echoed by the others. “I wait until 2pm, in the middle of the day. Then I buy a heavy double portion of banku [a cassava-based dish] with fish and two packs of water. That’s the only way I can provide for my children and make sure they eat even when I can’t.”
The situation has put the Ghanaian government under a lot of strain. Officials have emphasised countless times that the economic difficulties are mostly a result of the conflict in Ukraine, which has thrown off the world’s food supply lines. However, a lot of people in the market point the finger at the government. A trader claimed that the conflict in Ukraine is only the most recent excuse.