Consumers fear further crisis as prices of foodstuffs continue to rise
The rate at which prices of foodstuff continue to rise has generated a serious concern from citizens. This has become a topic of discussion by many as there is fear that acute hunger would persist across the country.
Daily Trust on Sunday reliably gathered that in Kano State, prices of rice, maize, millet and other food crops have been increasing, almost on a daily basis, a trend described by many residents as worrisome and dangerous to human existence. Indices have shown that the inflation rate on food commodities has reached about 30 per cent, which is believed to be the highest in recent times.
Findings have shown that a 100kg bag of millet is now selling in Kano at N51,000, 100kg bag of rice, N92,000 and 100kg of maize is N44, 000. The hike has affected almost all agro-commodities, forcing a sense of insecurity in terms of food supply.
A grain merchant at Dawanau International Grain Market, Alhaji Uba Abdullahi Bello, revealed that massive exportation of agrocommodities to neighbouring countries due to the mad rush to earn forex and the massive demand by mega companies are the main reason behind the hike in food prices, especially in Kano State.
“It will interest you to know that our commodities are now being heavily exported, either legally or illegally. Nigerian commodities are now a hot cake outside the country, and this is simply because our people are in a rush to earn forex that will culminate into a huge sum of naira when converted.
“There is also the mad rush for raw materials by the processing companies. It is very clear that there is a serious competition between demand for consumption and raw materials by these mega companies. And this has resulted in the increase of commodity prices because there is a huge demand,” he said.
Households in the state have expressed the fear of facing a serious food crisis as a result of the high cost
Price (N) 40,000 41,000
Crop Grains
Rice (Paddy) Maize Millet Beans (big) Beans (small) Groundnut (peeled) Sorghum Sesame Soybean Wheat Tomatoes
Crop Grains
Maize (white)
Maize (red)
Rice
Soya beans
Sorghum
Millet
Beans (white) of commodities. According to Malam Bashir Idris, a junior civil servant in the state government, a lot of food items are becoming unaffordable to many households. He explained that buying a measure (mudu) of either rice or beans is gradually going out of reach of the common man, adding that people can now only buy in cups.
“In a situation where the minimum wage is N30,000 and a
Per/KG
100kg 100kg 100kg 100kg 100kg 100kg 100kg 100kg 100kg 100kg Big basket
Per/KG
Price (N)
45,000 54,000 57,000 78,000 74,000 94,000 56,000 120,000 40,000 76,000
Price (N)
Crop Grains
Maize (white) Maize (red) Rice Soya beans Sorghum Millet Beans (white) measure of rice is selling at N2,300, you can imagine how life would be. A measure of sugar is now selling at N4,000 while a measure of maize is N1, 200. You will shed tears if you see how our people are coping with this development. The truth is that Nigeria and Nigerians are facing a serious crisis and there is a need for government’s intervention,” he pleaded.
Moreover, following the rise in the prices of locally milled rice and other agro-commodities in Kano State, Sasakawa Africa Association (SAA), which serves as an implementing partner in the Kano State Agropastoral Development Project (KSADP), funded by the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), the Lives and Livelihood Funds (LLF) and the Government of Kano State, has embarked on activities that will ensure massive rice production along its value chain.
Speaking with Daily Trust on Sunday, the deputy country director of the SAA, Dr Abdulhamid Gambo, said the association had been in Kano State for over 34 years supporting crop productivity enhancement, not only on rice but also on other crops.
He explained that the trend in the hike of agro-commodity prices is connected to the trend on the global shock on the micro economic variables.
According to him, the
Crop Grains
Maize (white) Rice (Paddy) Soya beans Sorghum Millet Groundnut (peeled) Sesame Beans (big) Beans (small)
Per/KG
Per/KG
100kg 100kg 100kg 100kg 100kg 100kg 100kg 100kg 100kg
Price (N)
51,000 42,500 40,000 5248,000 41,000 94,000 120,000 78,000 74,000
SAA has embarked on training and empowering farmers on the technologies needed for production to ensure better yield and increase in their income. He added that through that, increase in yield has been recorded.
“We are currently promoting good agronomic practices through which we taught farmers how
A rice farmer in Bayelsa State and the managing director of Ovieya Rice Farm, Mr Ovieya Sini, has begun local rice production from his farm at Famgbe community in Yenagoa Local Government Area.
Sini, who is currently cultivating about 15 plots of rice farm in his community, said his feat was borne out of the desire to produce rice that can feed Bayelsa and other states in the Niger Delta region, as well as ensure food availability.
He said rice from his farm was available during the Christmas celebrations in December 2023, and urged youths to get involved in agriculture to fight unemployment in the country. to utilise good varieties of seeds, modern farming techniques, among other things. We have recorded an increase in rice yield from 2 tonnes per hectare to about 5 tonnes. This is a good step forward in addressing the issue of rice production,” he said.
Similarly, the project coordinator, KSADP Project in the office of the
He also called on the state government to assist him to cultivate larger hectares of rice farm in the next farming season, as well as provide production facilities in Yenagoa for farmers to mill their rice without much stress.
Mr Sini, who had few months ago lamented over flooding and constant pest attacks on the farms when Daily Trust reporter visited the farm, said the success achieved in his farm was as a result of hard work and commitment to work.
He said although he was disturbed by the rising water level in the surrounding rivers in the state during the rainy season, God helped him, such that there was no flood in the state, a situation that would have destroyed his farms.
He said the major challenge rice farmers in the state were facing was
SAA, Mr Abdulrasheed Hamisu Kofarmata, said that under the project, farmers’ capacities have been built, as well as teaching them on the values of regenerative agricultural practices.
He said the project didn’t only focus on production but also promoted locally milled rice by lack of functional processing facilities, a situation that has discouraged interested youths to go into rice farming. He added that he hoped to cultivate a larger farm this year.
He said although the yield may not be commensurate with the resources he invested in the farm at the moment, he was fulfilled that he started rice production in the state, where most people believed it was an uphill task. He hopes that the next farming season would be gainful.
Reeling out his challenges while cultivating the rice farm, he said he was constrained with the riverine terrain, which makes it difficult for him to transport farm produce to the upland for processing.
He said, “I faced serious challenge training and empowering over 2,500 women on rice per boiling using their group structures.
“We have also established over 30 mini rice mill hubs across the 44 local government areas of the state to boost milling business, as well as to augment what we have been doing on rice production. By doing these
to convey the farm produce to upland for processing, you know our terrain is riverine. If the government can assist us with boats and other palliative measures, I think we can produce rice that can feed Bayelsa and other states. Our land is good for rice cultivation.
“We also need funds to expand the farm. For example, I cultivated 15 plots last season, if I had additional funds maybe from government or any other source, I could expand it to 30 or 50 plots. With this, we can tackle food shortage in our society.
“I have invested a lot of resources already in the farm, but if the government can assist with pesticides, tackle flooding in our society, we will have a bumper harvest.”
He said the next process in the production was packaging the remaining rice in bags for sale, as well as showcase some made-in-Bayelsa rice. we hope to contribute in bringing down the price of rice paddy, as well as locally milled rice in the state,” he revealed.
As the Muslim fasting period is fast approaching, many residents have expressed concern at the rate at which the prices of agro-commodities is getting high every day.