Thousands of shoppers streamed onto the Amanokrom Durbar Grounds before sunrise on Saturday, transforming the quiet Akuapem hills into a carnival of colour, commerce and culture for the third edition of Ofie Market – a farmer-led pop-up that is fast becoming a national model for tackling post-harvest waste and middle-man mark-ups.
Organisers estimate the turnout at more than 10,000 – the largest since the initiative began three months ago.
A promise turned movement
Ofie Market was born on the 2024 campaign trail, when now-MP Sammi Awuku pledged to “create a space where farmers could meet buyers directly, eliminate middlemen and keep the value of their labour.”
- Ofie Market 1.0 (March 2025) – 500 farmers and 300 “market queens” filled the Amanokrom Community Centre Park, selling garden eggs, cassava, dried fish and handmade crafts. Early sell-outs signalled untapped demand.
- Ofie Market 2.0 (26 April 2025) – A mid-morning downpour tested the project’s resilience; traders and shoppers danced through the rain and again sold out before noon. “It was wet and wonderful,” one vendor recalled.
The 3.0 milestone
Saturday’s edition stretched the capacity of the Durbar Grounds. Stalls overflowed with ripe plantain, citrus, palm oil and shea products, while drummers, dancers and youth volunteers kept the atmosphere festive and orderly.
“This is our market. This is our power,” said tomato farmer Akua Donkor after clearing her stock at self-set prices.
Early economic impact
Farmers report earning up to 30 percent more by bypassing aggregators, and local transport unions note a spike in weekend traffic from Accra and Koforidua.
Organisers are negotiating cold-chain support, mobile-market spin-offs and micro-loans to widen the reach.
What’s next
“Ofie Market is no longer a project; it has come to stay,” Awuku told jubilant traders, hinting at quarterly editions across the constituency. Traditional authorities have endorsed the expansion, calling it “a blessing to the land and the people.”
As dusk settled over Amanokrom, maize farmer Yaw Owusu summed up the day’s sentiment: “Ofie Market is our future – and we’re just getting started.”
