The high cost of food items in Nigeria have been traced to certain factors that continue to militate against efforts to achieve aggressive food production in the country. This was part of the Wet Season report submitted to the ministry of agriculture and food security by Professor Emmanuel Ikani, Executive Director, National Agricultural Extension and Research Liaison Services. He identified increase in cost of producing staple food crops like rice and maize as one of the challenges faced by farmers. Another is the inclement weather.
The professor lamented that maize production costs have skyrocketed by 69.7 per cent from N330,621 in 2023 to N561,237 per hectare, while rice production costs have surged by 37.8 per cent, from N423,400 per hectare in 2023 to N583,505 in 2024.According to NAERLS’s 2024 Wet Season Agricultural Performance report which was presented in Abuja on Friday, October 11, stated that increases in production costs for staple crops like rice and maize.Ikani said “This dramatic increase in production costs will create significant barriers for many families in Nigeria, making it more difficult for them to access these essential food items.”he said, “The dry conditions have led to lower yields, compounding the already high production costs.”The consequence, according to him, is that “Farmers are facing a perfect storm of rising costs and declining yields,”The report emphasised the difficult agricultural environment influenced by unfavourable weather conditions, rainfall data indicated a substantial decrease in 2024, resulting in a widespread dry spell across 33 states and escalating pest and disease infestations that have devastated various crops and devastating impact of flooding across 31 states, particularly in the North-East region.
Ikani noted that the heavy rains, exacerbated by a collapsed dam, resulted in tragic consequences, including 280 human deaths, 2,504 injuries, and the destruction of over 122,000 houses, 17,000 farmlands and a staggering 641,500 people who had been displaced as a result of those disasters.The report showed that the costs of agricultural inputs had also risen sharply, with fertilizer prices seeing significant hikes, the average cost of NPK fertilizer increased from N25,400 in 2023 to N42,000 in 2024, marking a 65.4 per cent rise and the price of urea has jumped by 84.8 per cent to about N41,300.According to the report, profile of farmers surveyed reveals a mean age of 47, with 69 per cent being male and an average household size of nine and 87 per cent of the respondents were sole crop farmers, yet only 22 per cent utilised tractors during the 2024 production cycle.
Aliyu Abdullahi, Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, while speaking at the event called for the urgent need for mechanisation to enhance Nigeria’s food security.Abdullahi urged the National Agricultural Extension and Research Liaison Services to convene a roundtable involving key stakeholders in the agricultural sector.“I urge NARLS to create a platform that consolidates our mechanisation tools and brings relevant industries to the table under the ministry’s guidance.” “We aim to leverage all available resources in the agricultural sector.We will ensure that our blessings translate into improved livelihoods for all citizens,” he added