The recent drop in food prices in Nigeria, despite bumper harvests, seems counterintuitive, but farmers are complaining about low returns on their investments.
According to reports, prices of staple foods like rice, beans, tomatoes, and maize have decreased significantly due to increased supply from local farmers who have commenced harvesting.
For instance, a 50kg bag of rice now costs between ₦50,000-₦63,000, down from ₦100,000, and tomatoes had fallen from ₦120,000 to ₦35,000 per basket.
However, farmers are struggling to recover their costs due to lack of proper storage facilities, insecurity, and poor market access, which force them to sell at giveaway prices.
Many farmers have expressed frustration, saying they are barely breaking even despite the bumper harvest.
The situation highlights the need for improved infrastructure, storage facilities, and market support to ensure farmers can benefit from their produce.
Without these, the gains of bumper harvests may not translate to better incomes for farmers, potentially discouraging future production.
In Kaduna State, farmers have expressed concern over the falling prices of agricultural produce in spite of recording bumper harvests during the current farming season.
Ibrahim Musa, a maize and soybean farmer in Giwa Local Government Area said although rainfall and yields were favourable, insecurity and the lack of storage facilities had forced the farmers to sell their produce cheaply.
He said many farmers could not access distant farmlands due to banditry, while the glut in the market pushed prices down.
Another farmer, Grace Zakari from Soba Local Government Area, said the high cost of labour and fertiliser coupled with low market prices had eroded farmers’ profits.
She stated that traditional storage methods were inadequate, leading to colossal post-harvest losses.
The farmers linked the drop in commodity prices to the ongoing harvests’glut and government policies on fuel and fertiliser subsidy removal, which they said had increased production costs.
They appealed to the government to provide storage facilities, affordable, farm inputs, and improved security to help the farmers benefit from their labour during the harvesting season.
In Kano State, farmers have recorded a successful harvest season this year, attributing their improved yields to favourable weather conditions and timely rainfall.
A cross-section of farmers and stakeholders who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in various parts of the state however expressed mixed feelings about the season, citing both gains and challenges.
Malam Audu Muzammil, a groundnut and soyabean farmer in Bebeji Local Government Area, said the harvest had been encouraging compared to last year’s.
“The rain started on time, and we had fewer pest attacks. My farm did very well this year.
“The only challenge now is how to store our produce safely because of poor storage facilities and the fear of post-harvest losses,” he said.
Another farmer, Malam Umaru Garba, expressed satisfaction with the support received under the SAPZ programme, describing it as “transformative” and a “turning point” for groundnut cultivation in the area.
Garba said he harvested twice the amount of groundnuts compared to the previous farming season.
“Before SAPZ came, I used to get only about 10 bags from my one hectare farm.
“This year, I got 20 bags. The improved seeds and training on modern planting methods made a big difference,” Garba said.
A millet, tomatoes and paper farmer in Kura local government area, Ibrahim Baba, said the season brought relief after months of uncertainty.
“We are grateful to God for the good yield. In spite of the high cost of fertiliser, we managed to cultivate enough.
” What we need now is government support in storage and better market access,” she said.
However, not all the farmers had a smooth experience.
Alhaji Salisu Mudi, who cultivates maize, millet and sorghum in Gezawa, raised concern about the cost of transportation.
“There is no banditry in our area or nearby communities, our only problem is how to moving our produce to the market is costly because of fuel prices,” he said.
On commodity prices, Mudi Abubakar Musa, observed that the current fall in prices was a result of increased supply from the harvests.
“When there is plenty produce, prices drop naturally. It’s not necessarily government policy but the impact of good yield.
” Tomatoes and peppers are cheaper now in the market,” he explained.
A market leader at the Dawanau International Grain Market, Alhaji Bala Ali, said the bumper harvests had significantly boosted food supply across the North-West in spite of the insecurity bedeviling some states in the region.
“Traders are receiving more grains from rural areas. This has stabilized prices and ensured steady supply,” he noted, adding that the trend could continue if security and logistics improve.
In Katsina State, farmers also have expressed concern over the crash in the prices of crops and the high cost of fertiliser.
The farmers stated this on Monday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
They said that a lot of farmers recorded loss during this year’s season in spite of the bumper harvests in many parts of the state.
According to the farmers, they bought a bag of fertilizer at N50,000 and above, but a bag of maize costs about N30,000, and below in some places, especially in the Southern parts of the state.
A bag of millet now costs about N30,000, and that of beans goes N68,000.
Malam Abubakar Aliyu, a farmer in Katsina, said that the prices of almost all the farm produce had crashed in the market drastically compared to last year.
He said that many of them planted crops in order to get profit this year, yet the prices of the crops dropped significantly.
“Sequel to that, I think some farmers may not necessarily plant crops next for the fear of what happened this year when they recorded loss,” he said.
On the other hand, he revealed that, people were happy for the bumper harvests and the reduction in the prices of grains.
He, therefore, urged the government to provide subsidy on fertiliser so as to encourage farmers to continue planting crops next year and beyond.
Kabir Sabiu said that the crash in the prices of crops this year was something from the Almighty Allah.
“We thank Allah for that, as you know, anything which has advantages, must also have its disadvantages.
“The advantage of this is that a lot of people who hitherto could not afford food, are now able to do so.
“Only that to get the money is also a difficult thing in view of the current economic situation in the country,” he said.
Another farmer, Aminu Aliyu, said that he heard people saying that the Federal Government had lifted ban on the importation of maize into the country.
“I’m not sure, even if that is true, at least the government should have equally provided subsidy on fertiliser to encourage them continue farming next year.
“So, from all indication, many farmers will abandon their farms next year unless the federal and state governments make fertiliser more affordable in the markets,” he said.
Aliyu also urged the government to hasten taking measures that would reduce the prices of fertiliser to the farmers.(NAN)