Garlic Farming in West Africa

Garlic Farming in West Africa requires farmers to understand the variety of seeds available, the right soil types, and the most suitable climate to grow the crop in. Like anywhere else in the world, garlic farming in West Africa requires a farmer to identify a well-drained piece of land with light soil.  It is important to note that garlic does not grow in water-logged soils.

Garlic also does well in gardens that enjoy full sun. In other words, a farmer should not choose a garden that has too much shade.

Garlic planting is easy, because all one needs to do is get mature garlic – known as seed garlic, separate the cloves, and plant each clove individually.  It is important to note that seed garlic and consumption garlic are similar; however, seed garlic is more mature since it is allowed to stay in the fields longer (usually a minimum period of six months) than consumption garlic. However, consumption garlic is harvested as early as four months.

Farmers who make the mistake of planting consumption garlic usually end up with a poorly germinated crop. Farmers therefore need to be extra careful to get seed garlic from reliable stock lists only. Additionally, some garlic bulbs (especially those imported from Egypt and elsewhere) are treated with growth retardant chemicals to prevent them from germinating on the retail shelves.  The foregoing underscores the need to purchase seed garlic from reliable sources only.

Planting

Plant each clove separately. The pointed part of the clove should be pointing upwards and should be about one (1) inch below the ground.  It’s advisable to plant garlic in rows that are 12 inches apart.  The ideal spacing for garlic seeds in the same row is four (4) inches. It is worth noting that the bigger the clove that one plants, the larger the bulb that he/she is likely to get from the garlic plant once it matures.

Once planted, garlic requires adequate irrigation as this helps the plant to set a full-sized bulb.   However, and as indicated earlier, it is important to avoid water logging.
The only diseases that affect garlic are the garlic white rot and the garlic crop rust.  These two diseases can be minimized through crop rotation.

Maturity, harvesting and Storage

A farmer knows when garlic matures, either by keeping track of the months- growing times is between 4 and 6 months, or waiting for the garlic leaves to wither.  Smart farmers in West Africa will however not leave the garlic bulbs too long in the soil after the leaves have withered because the individual cloves will start sprouting.

To enhance storage, harvested bulbs should be brushed off any dry soil and left to dry in a warm dry place. After this, the bulbs can be stored for up to three months in a dry and well-ventilated room.

Marketing

Garlic farming in West Africa is arguably a money making avenue for farmers. Currently, the demand for the produce is still very high, hence guaranteeing farmers a ready market. The prices that farmers get, however, vary depending on the farmers’ proximity to the market, the garlic sizes, and how well individual farmers are able to bargain with middle men. Like anything else, Garlic farmers in West Africa can choose to bypass the middle men and market their produce directly to consumers, in which case they would enjoy higher profit margins, but would also have to put up with farm-to-market logistics.