Farmers smile as harvest begins
By Safina Buhari (Abuja), Idris Mahmud, Katsina; Hope Abah, Makurdi; Musa Gingiyu, Kano; Usman A. Bello & Romoke W. Ahmad, Ilorin; & Aliyu M. Hamagam, Dutse
Farmers in many parts of the country have started smiling to the bank as they begin harvest of their farm produce. Reports from Katsina, Benue, Kano, Kwara, Edo, Jigawa and the FCT indicate that farmers have started the harvest of maize, groundnuts, onions, rice, among other crops and have been selling same in the market.
In Katsina State, economic activities bounced back in various markets of the state with merchants from far and near loading assorted farm produce to various destinations in the country and beyond.
Alhaji Abubakar Mani, a rice merchant in Funtua, told our reporter that they have stopped travelling to Kebbi State to buy paddy rice as farmers in Katsina have started harvesting theirs.
He said: “From last February, we mainly supplied our markets with paddy rice from Aljannare, Kebbi State and the last one we bought in the first week of this August cost us not less than N13,000 per bag.
“Now that our farmers have started harvesting their rice, we are buying the produce from our local markets for as low as N6,000 to N9,000 depending on the maturity, quality and variety of the rice. This has significantly brought down the price of our locally milled rice to N28,000 against N32,000 per 100kg bag.”
Similarly, a maize merchant in Bakori grains market, Malam Salisu Hamza, said bumper harvest of maize was underway as the state witnessed massive cultivation of the crop like it never did in recent years.
“We have seen how farmers responded to the Federal Government’s agricultural policies and, God so kind, we have adequate rainfall and farmers had fertilizer on time and at an affordable price. Very soon the high price of maize would significantly drop as the farmers are gearing up for a bumper harvest. A bag of well dried new maize now costs N11,500 while the old one cost N16,000,” he said.
Meanwhile, onions have since featured majorly in the markets with its merchants coming from Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Enugu and Lagos states.
An onion dealer in Danja market, Mal Shehu Musa, said this year witnessed high yield of onion, especially as farmers cultivated it massively compared to previous years.
“Farmers are now in a fullscale harvest of onion and we are lucky that buyers are coming from different places; but one cannot tell what will happen in the next coming month, especially as farmers produce it in large scale this year,” he said.
He added that lack of modern storage facilities remained their major setback, as they experienced market glut of the produce every year.
A bag of onion now cost N6,000 highest.
Daily Trust on Sunday went round some markets in Kafur, Danja, Bakori and Funtua where it was observed that new beans and millet from Dankama of Kaita LGA have been sold for some weeks with their prices lowered to between N24,000 and N12,500 as against N30,000 and N18,500 for the old ones for the 100kg and 50kg bags respectively.
Similarly, tomato that was scarce four months ago is now in abundance at N4,500 per big basket and merchants have since started transporting it to Lagos and other southern markets.
In Benue State, our correspondent reports that groundnut farmers in the state are excited over their bumper harvest this year occasioned by consistent rainfall and a new improved variety of seed planted by some of them.
This is the first time in about five years that the farmers are rejoicing for reaping bountifully which by implication would fetch them value for their efforts.
Before now, the farmers had continued to lament poor harvest which most of them attributed to non-availability of good seedlings, lack of fertiliser and other inputs that could propel large output.
A groundnut farmer in MbataivGboko area of the state, Titus Atondo, told our correspondent in Makurdi that he had bumper harvest this year compared to last year when his work was wasted.
Atondo said due to his bitter experience last year, he decided to cultivate only one and half hectare of farm land for groundnut which turned out so well basically with the use of improved seedlings, popularly known as ‘BNARDA’, instead of the old variety that yielded very little.
“This year, I harvested 17 bags of 100kg groundnuts from the one and half hectare cultivated because of the improved seed I planted. Last year, it was only three bags from the same portion of land due to the old variety,” he said.
According to Atondo, a bag of groundnut at the local markets in the state currently sells for between N9,000 and N10,000 so he hoped to make at least N170,000 from his harvest later when the produce was sold.
He added: “I’m encouraged by this harvest so I would expand my groundnut farm next year to get more income.”
Similarity, another groundnut farmer, Adamgbe Azonge, expressed satisfaction with his harvest at the four hectares of farm cultivated with improved groundnut seeds which he personally sourced.
Azonge who said he had harvested 32 bags of 100kg groundnuts so far from his farm, was assure that at the end of the day, he would be able to get more than 70 bags.
On his part, the state chairman of the National Groundnut Producers, Processors and Marketing Association (NGPPMA), Saa Gbue, applauded this year’s groundnut harvest across the state, saying that it was better than the previous seasons.
In Kano State, our correspondent reports that farmers in some parts of the state have commenced the harvest of millet and maize, leading to the reduction in the price of the new produce in the market.
At the popular Dawanau grains market, a 100kg bag of new maize is sold for N13,500 as against N16,500 for the old variety, while the same size of the new millet costs N16,500 instead of N18,000 for the old one.
Some of the farmers, expressed happiness over the bumper harvest experienced this year, saying it would not only encourage more production but improve their living standard.
In the Federal Capital Territory, new yams have started entering the market in most of the satellite towns.
A yam farmer in Bwari, who gave his name as Zephaniah, said yam harvest in the area started some weeks ago but that many farmers are yet to start.
‘’We are going to have good harvest this year and it is good for us. I have sold yams worth N120,000 just within these few days and I still have enough in my farm. It is really a good time for us this year. Government’s efforts on fertiliser yielded good result this year because we had the product at the right time,’’ he said.
Maize farmers in the territory have also started harvest even though it has not changed the price in the market.
A maize farmer in Kuduru, a community near Bwari, told one of our reporters that they had bumper harvest this year despite the initial threat by army worms that attacked their farms.
‘’We were at first scared of the worm but adequate rainfall helped us out as the worms cannot survive heavy downpour. It is really good for us this year,’’ he said.
Reports from Edo State indicate that farmers in the state recorded bumper harvest in groundnut and maize.
Some of the farmers, who spoke to our reporter in the state, attributed the development to adequate rainfall and more access to fertiliser this year.
The story is the same in Kwara State, where maize, groundnut and yam farmers who are presently in the harvest period said they recorded bumper harvest despite an initial threat by army worms.
Our correspondent in Ilorin observed that new yam and groundnut have flooded the state capital with the prices slightly down.
Beans farmers in Jigawa State said they have started harvesting the rain-fed variety in the state.
Daily Trust on Sunday reports that new beans have started arriving the markets while millet farmers in the state said they would commence harvesting in two weeks’ time.