The prices of food crops have dropped significantly in most parts of the North-East, a survey conducted by the News Agency of Nigeria, has shown.
NAN reports that it is the first time the cost of food has gone down in the geo-political zone since the withdrawal of fuel subsidy in 2023.
Market surveys conducted in Adamawa, Yobe and Borno revealed significant drops in the prices of maize, rice, guinea corn and beans.
The prices of yam, Irish potatoes, fish, beef, flour, sugar and spaghetti were, however, found to be either stagnant, or slightly higher.
In Jimeta market in Adamawa, a 100 kg bag of maize, which sold between N60,000 and N65,000 in October and Nov. 2024, dropped to between N50,000 and N53,000 by January to February this year.
Malam Isah Bala, a trader at the Jimeta Modern Market, told NAN the bag
currently costs between N40,000 and N45,000.
“Also a bag of local rice that was previously sold from N60,000 to N65,000 now goes for N45,000.
“The price of a 100 kg of beans, which was sold at N190,000 in 2024, initially dropped to N160,000 and has now fallen to N95,000,” he said
However, yam prices have surged at the Ganye Yam Market, a key trading hub in the state.
Currently, 100 pieces of yam, which previously sold for between N70,000 and N80,000, now cost about N200,000, with a single tuber going for between N2,000 and N2,500, depending on the size.
The prices of livestock have also gone up in most of the markets especially in Ngurore, Mubi, Cigari, and Ganye, Local Government Areas (LGAs).
Malam Dunama Maigida, a trader at a livestock market in Ngurore, told NAN that the markets attract buyers from across Nigeria and neighbouring countries such as Cameroon, Benin and Niger.
According to him, the price of cattle has equally risen over the past three years.
“A cow that previously sold for N200,000 to N300,000, now costs between N400,000 and N700,000, with some selling for as much as N1 million,” he told NAN.
Similarly, in Yobe, a 100kg bag of unprocessed local rice previously sold from N57,000 to N60,000, now goes for between 40,000 and N43,000.
The price of a 100kg bag of beans has also dropped from N105,000 to N85,000, while a similar quantity of millet has dropped from N60,000 to N46,000
A 100kg bag of sorghum has equally dropped from N55,000 to N38,000.
The price of groundnut has equally dropped from N105,000 to N85,000 per bag, while pepper dropped from N85,000 to N56,000.
A bag of wheat has equally dropoed from N110,000 to N77,000, with Bambara nuts dropping from N95,000 to N80,000 respectively.
“A basket of tomatoes sold at N18,000 to N20,000 in 2024, now goes for between N6,500 and N8,500,” Malam Bukar Goni, a tomato farmer, told NAN.
Goni told NAN that he would rather preserve his stock than sell at a loss.
The situation in Borno is not different from that of Adamawa and Yobe.
Malam Haruna Bukar, a rice and grains seller at Monday Market, Maiduguri said the price of local rice had dropped due to increased supply from farmers and food aid interventions.
Bukar said that in 2024, a 50kg bag of local rice was sold at N80,000 but now goes for between N65,000 and N64,000, depending on the quality.
He said a foreign rice bag, which was sold for N97,000, has been reduced to N70,000, while the price of maize also dropped from N55,000 per bag as it sold in 2024, to N38,000 currently.
“We have seen a decrease in the prices of some grains, but yam, potatoes, and beans remain expensive.
A 100kg bag of beans is now about N100,000, whereas in 2024, it was N180,000, but yam is still very costly, with a tuber selling from N2,500 to N3,000.
Also speaking, Malam Adamu Ali, a livestock trader at Kasuwan Shanu, said cattle prices had remained high due to transportation costs and insecurity affecting supply routes.
Meanwhile, Sadiq Abubakar, a beans farmer, warned that high costs of farm inputs could discourage future investment in Agriculture if something was not done urgently to address the wide inputs-products prices gaps.
“Fertiliser costs N50,000 per bag. If prices keep falling, farming may become unprofitable,” he said.
Some farmers said the decline was driven by dropped patronage from Non-Government Organisations and increased local production.
Bala attributed the price drop to lack of money in circulation, saying the development had forced those hoarding grains to release their stock in the market, thereby causing a crash in prices of staple foods.
He also linked the price drop to the month of Ramadan (fasting), during which many humanitarian organisations and philanthropists distributed free food to residents leading to reduced demand for food items among the residents.
Malam Lawan Mala, a public affairs analyst, linked the decline to reduced bulk purchases by NGOs, particularly after the withdrawal of USAID’s humanitarian aid.
“NGOs used to buy food in large quantities for insurgency-affected areas, driving up demand. Now, with reduced purchases, prices have adjusted,” he said.
Muhammad Maitela, a farmer and food vendor, also said that many residents have embraced subsistence farming.
“Households now grow their own food, selling only surplus,” he said.
Prof. David Jatau, the Commissioner for Agriculture, in Adamawa, attributed the price falls to Gov. Ahmadu Fintiri administration’s enhanced food production and security initiatives.
Jatau said that Fintiri’s policies which prioritised food security and sustainable agricultural development, had significantly enhanced food affordability and accessibility.
“The Agricultural Programme for Poverty Alleviation and Climate Change Adaptation (APPACCA) was designed to boost productivity and ensure food sufficiency.
“Also, the State’s Food Security Committee expanded farmlands and allocated hundreds of hectares for cultivation across various local government areas,” he said.
Also contributing, Prof. Ahmad Bawa of Economics Development at Modibbo Adama University, linked the drop in food prices to Federal Government policies on food importation, particularly for rice and maize.
He described the federal government initiatives on food security as a welcome development which must be sustained.
Bawa, however, warned that prices could rise again if the situation was allowed to go unchecked by the appropriate authorities.
“Despite economic challenges and price flunctuation, residents are adapting by purchasing food in bulk for storage due to the drop in price.
“A lot of people are also turning to small-scale farming and petty trading of their produce to sustain themselves,” the economist said.
He stressed the need for the state government to establish direct farmer-to-consumer markets in order to reduce the role of middlemen.
“Hopefully, this will stabilise prices and ease the economic burden on residents,” he said.
(NAN)
