Guinea fowl hawkers at the Zebilla barrier in the Bawku West District of the Upper East Region have decried low patronage of their wares in recent times.
Although guinea fowls from Zebilla has been tagged as the most “preferred and delicious,” these hawkers lamented in separate interviews with the Ghanaian Times that they sold little to nothing in a day in the past months and that was very disturbing as it was their only source of livelihood.
The paper in its visit to the place last Saturday, around 1:30 pm observed that these hawkers sat idly behind their wares waiting for customers, passers-by and vehicles to quickly attend to.
Hawked by women, these guinea fowls were displayed openly in pans and wooden trays to attract patrons.
These hawkers were also spotted calling out to passers-by and rushing to vehicles to attract customers for patronage.
The fowls which were in half and full were sold between GH¢30 and GH¢80 either roasted or fried. They came with red powdered pepper and were sold with fried yam.
Linda Mbii who said she had not sold anything yet at the time the Ghanaian Times visited said sales had been that way for some time.
She indicated that the prices of the guinea fowl ranged from GH¢30 to about GH¢70 and that the prices had risen as a result of the constant hikes in petroleum products and its attendant impact on commodity prices.
Mrs Mbii said that was the only business she had operated for the past 20 years and was her only source of income.
She explained that Zebilla was the hub for guinea fowl, so people from far and near came to buy in bulk for retailing and wholesaling.
Mrs Mbii called on all who used the barrier to patronise them to sustain their livelihood.
Ms Portia Hamdiya, another hawker, similarly decried the recent fall in patronage of their meat.
She noted that she could make sales of more than GH¢500 in a day but that was not the case now, as she had not made up to GH¢200 at the time of the interview.
Ms Hamdiya stated that guinea fowl ordinarily sells because of its nutritional benefits but they were almost at a loss because of the high cost of living being experienced currently in the country.
She called for a cut in the prices of commodities to help make things affordable for all.
For her part, Aisha Abokusaid she was hopeful that patronage would pick up and get better.
She affirmed that she also sold her fowls at the same prices (between GH¢30–GH¢70)and believed she was going to make more sales before end of day.
BY ABIGAIL ARTHUR, ZEBILLA