Titao: In Loroum province, the sale of onions at the farm gate is causing significant tension between producers and buyers. Market gardeners in Titao are contesting the purchase by net or bag, which they accuse of facilitating manipulation, and are demanding the implementation of sales by kilogram for greater transparency and fairness. However, for the time being, a dialogue of the deaf seems to have taken place, as buyers prefer to maintain the old purchasing system. According to Burkina Information Agency, with the gradual securing of the territory, market gardening, particularly onion production, is increasingly expanding in Titao alongside potatoes and other vegetables. However, there is growing discontent regarding the net or bag, the main units of measurement used for sales. Fieldside at Titao, in February 2026, men and women are busy around the Titao dam, which has become a daily meeting place for buyers and producers. While some producers, watering cans in hand, are busy watering their fields, other s, near the trucks, are deep in conversation. In Titao that day, the atmosphere was tense. The usual farmyard banter occasionally erupted into heated debates. The purchase price of onions was hotly contested between buyers and producers: 17,500 CFA francs, 20,000 CFA francs per sack. Reaching an agreement on a price proved difficult. But what fueled the debates most was the measurement system. Producers reject buying by the net or bag. They prefer selling by the kilogram. For them, selling by the net or bag allows the buyer to manipulate the product. "We don't agree with this method of buying. Everyone just fills the bag as they please," exclaims one producer. The situation is perceived among producers as a trick by the buyers. "They do as they please and according to their own interests," he complains. A few exchanges with buyers, however, reveal their preference for this method of purchase. "It's the method we know best, and it's how it's been done for years," says one buyer, who seems uninterested in ans wering questions. "It saves you from lugging around scales," he adds before quickly disappearing to escape these questions that appear to embarrass him. Selling by the kilogram is more profitable for producers. Generally speaking, producers are not in favor of using nets as a unit of measurement, a practice that seems to benefit the buyer. Naaba Wadga, the canton chief of Titao and a market gardener for many years, is well-versed in the intricacies of market gardening. While welcoming the opening of National Route 23, which facilitates the influx of buyers and the distribution of market garden produce, he believes there are issues to be addressed in the onion sales process. He advocates for greater fairness in product purchasing to compensate producers for their efforts. "Buying onions by the kilogram will guarantee more fairness," says the traditional chief. Indeed, buying by the net is a source of disagreements and often heated debates between producers and buyers. According to Wendlassida Niampa, a produ cer, selling by the net results in significant losses for farmers. 'They pay 20,000 F for the bag. But the problem lies in the actual quantity of onions in the bag. Buyers go to great lengths to fill it beyond the normal amount. But if it were by the kilogram, it would be simpler and clearer for everyone,' says Mr. Niampa. For Sanata Younga, a producer near the Titao dam, this practice could, in the long run, discourage producers. "Women will pay the heaviest price, because they are the ones who invest the most in onion production," she worries. According to her, onion cultivation is complex and requires significant investment. "We face several challenges, including the cost of renting land, contributing to the rental of the irrigation system, and difficulties in acquiring inputs," notes Ms. Younga. She also points to the producers' responsibility in the persistence of this purchasing system. "There aren't enough markets, but we ourselves are ruining the market because we aren't well organized, unlike the bu yers who remain united," Ms. Younga emphasizes. It is urgent to find common ground. Meeting in conclave in Ouagadougou from November 19 to 20, 2025, the Interprofessional Committee of the onion sector of Burkina Faso (CIPFOB) had already raised the alarm about the method of selling onions at the farm gate. Following consultations, the sale by kilogram was chosen, and the price was set at 165 francs per kilogram of onions. This decision addressed the lack of a standardized measurement system, "which led to losses, disagreements, and high price volatility," according to the consultation report. In this dialogue of the deaf between producers and buyers, where both parties are struggling to reach an agreement, the ball now seems to be in the court of the technical services or the administration, which could play a mediating role in order to find a middle ground. The challenge is to ensure that buyers remain solvent and that producers, who are already buckling under the weight of difficult security and humanitar ian conditions, can continue to produce and make a living.