By; FUNMI ADERINTO, Kaduna.
The early morning market, popularly known as “kasuwar mata”, is a sprawling area with over 100 women patronising the market to purchase fresh maize, vegetables and other food items daily.
The market is located at Danmani Junction along Nnamdi Azikiwe bypass in Badiko area, in Kaduna South local Government of the state.
The chairman, Sulaiman Dahiru said in an exclusive interview that for twenty years this market has supplied locally grown maize, vegetables, tubers such as Potatoes, Cabage, Onions, providing trading opportunity to more than one thousand people mostly women from Kaduna North and Kaduna South LGA.
Dahiru said, Kasuwar Mata traders buy their fresh maize direct from the farmers, this make them to come early as 7am to 1pm in order to get fresh maize that will satisfy the buyers.
Dahiru said he has “been in the business for the past 25 years, people patronised here because of the cheap items they get in the market”.
He said “the challenge is that the market does not have a permanent place because we can be sent packing out of this place, even though the market is a place that has been known to the buyers”.
Speaking with one of the buyers who patronised the market, she said “I come here from Sabon Tasha every morning to purchase fresh maize for my customers because it is fresh and cheaper here”.
Another source said, “as a civil servant, whenever am off duty at work, I come here to get fresh maize for to sell to help the family get additional income”.
In addition, Dahiru said “after the raining season, it is not easy for them to get fresh maize because it will take them two months before getting to sell.”
He also pleaded with the government to come to their aid by giving them a permanent site to enhance their trade. He advice idle women to come to the market, as they have to sell their products, keep them busy and earn income.
