By Aminata Ceesay
Brikama Market is a major trading hub for raw groundnuts, palm oil, fruits and vegetables. However, recently vegetable vendors at the market have expressed frustration at the shortage of cabbages in the market, saying demand is high.
Cabbage is a leafy green or purple biennial plant, grown as an annual vegetable crop for its dense-leaved heads.
Speaking to The Standard, Seesayding Jatta, a vegetable garden vendor said: “Cabbage is a vegetable that most of my customers demand daily for their meal but supply is limited now. Cabbage has medicinal value other than the flavour it provides when consumed.”
Ndey Ida Sanneh, a housewife said: “One of my favorite vegetables is cabbage because increasing consumption of plant-based foods like cabbage decreases the risk of diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and overall mortality. It can also promote healthy complexion, increase energy, and overall lower weight. Now that it is scarce in the market, I have to cook some of my meals without it. I am so used to it and without it in my meal, a vital flavour is missed.”
Binta Colley, another shopping housewife said: “There are few vegetables in the market at this time of the year. Cabbage is a seasonal vegetable and I think that is why it is limited in the market and the demand is high, because it makes some of our local dishes very palatable.”
Mariama Jadama, a vegetable seller said: “The lack of cabbages is affecting my business a bit. If I could remember among all the vegetable that I sell, my customers demand cabbages the most and if I tell them to take other vegetables they would say it is cabbage they want. For weeks now, there has been a shortage. The last time I visited the garden were I used to buy my vegetable products, I asked for cabbages but the planter told me that the ones she planted are yet to reach maturity for cultivation.”
Lisa Njie, a vegetable gardener said: “It is true that for weeks now cabbage has been limited in the market because it’s a seasonal vegetable and most of the gardeners have not started planting it yet, because some soils at this moment will not produce good produces due to the season. Every plant has seasonal weather that goes with it.”
