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•Tomato, pepper, rice, others turn to gold, become exclusive preserve of rich citizens
•Food inflation hits 40.66% •Farmers blame high production cost
•FG mum
From Okwe Obi, Abuja and Chinyere Anyanwu
Millions of Nigerians are celebrating sallah in hunger, anger and heightened frustration.
The suffering predates this season as it worsened after the incumbent administration unleashed harsh economic reforms on the citizens without cushioning measures. The double whammy of naira float and petrol subsidy removal sent the economy stalling at an unprecedented dimension.
The ensuing inflation reduced workers’ wages to near zero.
For low-income earners who constitute over 70 per cent of the population, surviving in the country is now tougher than living in war-torn climes as food prices reach sky-high with no hope of an imminent fall.
Inflation numbers from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), released at the weekend, show that food inflation in May 2024 surged to 40.66 per cent on a year-on-year basis, a stark rise from the 24.82 per cent recorded in May 2023, and slightly higher than the 40.53 per cent recorded in April 2024. This sharp increase in food prices is attributed to various factors affecting different food categories.
According to the Bureau, key items driving this inflation include Semovita, Oatflake, pre-packaged Yam flour, Garri, Beans (Bread and Cereals class), Irish Potatoes, Yam, Water Yam (Potatoes, Yam and other Tubers class), Palm Oil, Vegetable Oil (Oils and fats), Stockfish, Mudfish, Crayfish (Fish class), Beef Head, live Chicken, Pork Head, and Bush Meat (Meat class). Nevertheless, on a month-on-month basis, food inflation in May 2024 was recorded at 2.28 per cent, a decrease from the 2.50 per cent recorded in April 2024.
Crimes and suicides are on the rise as citizens snap after exceeding their elastic limits.
Families now rummage through dumpsters to eke a living.
On July 13, 2023, President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency to tackle the rising cost of food and its impact on Nigerian citizens. Since then, food prices have been on the ascent as government agencies continually feign helplessness.
Social scientists have repeatedly rang the alarm bells, calling on the federal government to declare a real state of emergency on food insecurity to prevent the looming humanitarian crisis.
There are genuine concerns the steady rise in food prices accentuates possible annihilation of vulnerable families.
Checks at some major markets in Lagos reveal that a 50kg bag of long grain foreign rice which sold for N72,000 about two weeks ago now sells for N78,000 while the locally produced brand which sold for N62,000 now sells for N68,000. A 50kg bag of Oloyin (honey) beans which sold for N100,000 is selling now for N140,000 while a 100kg bag of Olo2 beans which sold for N150,000 is now selling for N280,000.
A 20kg bag of yellow garri which was going for N35,000 is currently selling for N47,000; a 20kg bag of white garri which sold for N33,000 now goes for N47,000 while a paint bucket of both yellow and white garri go for N3,700.
A large basket of tomatoes which sold for between N95,000 and N100,000 is now selling for between N145,000 and N150,000 while a 50kg sack of pepper (rodo) which sold for N90,000 is now selling for N140,000.
A large tuber of yam which could be bought for N4,000 few weeks back is now going for around N6,000.
The horror is not limited to Lagos alone.
A market survey conducted by Daily Sun at the Kabusa and Garki markets at the weekend showed worrisome developments.
Prices of yams, beans, tomatoes, ram, beef and rice among others have doubled in the last 48 hours.
A small tuber of yam was sold for N2,500 as against N1,800 and N1500. The same goes to a small size of another species of yam tuber known as ‘water yam,’ that was sold for N1,500 as against N1,000.
A ‘mudu’ of white beans which used to be N2,200 went for N2, 900. A mudu of brown beans is now N3,600 as against N2,800. The inflation also affected the price of rice. A ‘mudu’ of local rice was sold for N3,000, as against N2,500. 1 kilogram of beef is now N7,000 as against N6,000. Consumers bought 4 seeds of pepper for N200. A small basket of tomatoes was sold at N100 to N1,500, as against N800.
While diagnosing the problem, President, Small Scale Women Farmers Association in Nigeria (SWOFON), Fatima Bello, said the removal of fuel subsidy contributed to the hardship.
Bello explained that the inability of most farmers who are into irrigation farming, especially during the dry season, to afford fuel at the current official price of N617, caused some of them to either reduce the cost of production or abandon their farmlands.
“We use a pumping machine and the pumping machines are not solar inclined.
“Most people that are into irrigation farming have reduced the sizes of their farmlands or stopped completely because they can no longer afford it. And that will affect the family of smallholder farmers.
“From the family it has moved to the community because you are producing for your family. The little that they get they will keep it for the household.
“Another problem is the exchange rate of naira to the dollar, and the value of the naira was going down.
“We as citizens are also contributing to the problem because fuel subsidies have long been removed and we are taking advantage of the situation, to inflate hardship.”
As a way out, she suggested that “the fuel subsidy should be revised and the cost of transportation will automatically reduce.
“Farmers need fertilizer, seedlings and so on. They need cash to return to the farm. The smallholder farmers pump in about 70 per cent of the workforce and over 80 per cent of these people are in the rural areas.”
Furthermore, FCT Coordinator of SWOFON, Comfort Sunday, complained about the unavailability of farmlands in the FCT, distribution of poisonous fertilizer and lack of proper and constant training on modern practices.
Sunday advised the authorities to dig boreholes and construct reservoirs around farm locations, to enable farmers to cultivate all year round.
Most importantly, she encouraged the government to implement the Maputo Declaration which recommended that African countries should commit 10 per cent of their national budget into agriculture.
“We want the government to train farmers on climate change. Climate change is affecting us seriously.
This year, if we plant, the birds, because of lack of rain, remove our seeds and grains.
“Some farmers are forced to plant at least three times on the same portion of land. Most of the farmers do not even follow up again because they do not have money to source for grains and seedlings to replant.
“Also, we need the government to dig more boreholes or construct reservoirs around farm locations, to enable us to embark on dry season farming. We need pumping sprayers to fast track spraying of water.
“In addition, we need land. The FCT administration should allocate farmlands to registered farmers. If you check, developers have occupied everywhere. The expansion of the airport has consumed our lands. We have children to feed and to supply.
“The government needs to know the right fertilizer to distribute to farmers, so that we will not be eating poison in the name of increasing yield. Not all fertilizers are good. The Maputo Declaration should be implemented.”
Furthermore, the FCT Chairperson of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Nkechi Okafor, corroborated Sunday’s concerns regarding the purchase of high cost of input by farmers.
Okafor said it would be difficult for the government to control the prices of foodstuffs without subsidising farm input like fertilizer and pesticides.
Insecurity and climate change ranked among her major headaches that need to be addressed.
“We are not ignorant of the cost of inputs. You know that the cost of inputs translate to the cost of food items. When farmers buy input at a very high cost even you as government cannot control the prices of how much they will sell.
“So, if you cannot subsidise input for farmers, they have the right to buy at any cost and sell at any price that they want.
“Insecurity is also there. I did not want to go there first because it is a very challenging problem. Farmers do not really go to their farms. You know that a majority of the food we consume in the cities are produced in the villages.
“Most of the rural areas are not habitable because of insecurity. So, if farmers take control of the food we eat, you cannot control the price.
“Everybody is seeing the scary news on a daily basis on insecurity and how farmers are being killed, women raped, farmlands destroyed and kidnapping for ransom.
“Which farmer has N1 million to pay for ransom? So, when you think about how much you are to pay if you are captured, you will decide to stay off the farm, and the food cannot get to the city.
“We are being fed by farmers in rural areas and these places are danger zones because of insecurity. Aside from that, there are some diseases destroying tomatoes and peppers.
“And when you have this kind of problem the cost of foodstuffs will automatically be high.
“Farmers are scared of insurance. Because if at the end of the year there is no flooding, or outbreak of diseases, the money for insurance is going to waste. Also, if there is no compensation they will be discouraged to produce more.”
Solutions being proffered include massive import of foods and other vital goods while the federal government deals with growing insecurity and other challenges discouraging local food production.
When contacted on phone for comments, the Director of Information, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Joel Oruche, did not take his calls nor did he reply to text messages.
