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Food prices drop in Nigeria

The harvest of food crops in the South-west has made appreciable positive impact on the prices of foodstuff, a survey by the News Agency of Nigeria has revealed. Some farmers and stakeholders, who spoke with NAN correspondents across some states in the zone on Wednesday, attributed the positive development to the sustained focus on agricultural development by the federal government.

They expressed optimism that the effort at revamping the country’s ailing economy would materialise, if the renewed focus on agriculture persisted. They also cited government’s efforts at strengthening the naira by encouraging locally produced goods. These actions, they concluded, had boosted food production, resulting to good harvest that had led to a drop in the price of foodstuff. 

In Oyo State, a maize seller, Azeez Zubair, told NAN in Ibadan that a measure (mudu) of maize, which cost N420 before the current harvest period, now goes for N200 while a bag of maize, which was sold for N18,000 previously now cost N10,000. He said that the price could have been further reduced if more youth had ventured into agriculture and therefore, advised youngsters to go back to farming in order to permanently tackle food insecurity in the country. 

Also speaking, Romoke Fashola, a yam seller, said that six tubers of yam that previously cost 3,000, now sells for N1, 200 while the price of 60 tubers of yam had dropped to N18,000 from N30,000. Mrs. Fashola said that the price of yam would still drop as the harvest period lasted. She, however, observed that exportation of yams, would limit the drop in the price of yam this harvest season. In his own contribution, Alao Adetayo, a farmer, identified one of the factors inducing price spikes as the high cost of farm inputs and transportation occasioned by bad roads. 

He urged the federal government to rehabilitate rural roads to ease farmers’ stress in the transportation of farm produce to urban centres. Reacting to the development, Oyewole Oyewumi, the Oyo Commissioner for Agriculture, Natural Resources and Human Development, said the state government had embarked on various measures to boost food production. Oyewumi said that the government had begun to recruit many unemployed youth into agriculture through the inauguration of the Oyo State Agricultural Initiatives (OYSAI) tagged ‘OYO AGRIC’. 

He said that this effort had contributed to increased food production and the resultant affordable prices of farm produce this harvest period. The commissioner added that the government had also embarked on the repair and expansion of rural roads to ease the transportation of farm produce from rural communities to urban areas. In Osun, a similar trend was observed in different parts of the state, especially at major markets in Osogbo and Ile-Ife. A yam seller at Itakogun market, Ile-Ife, Christiana Alani, said that five big tubers of yam, previously sold for N4,000 now cost N2,500. Mrs. Alani added that five small tubers which cost N1,200 before harvest, now sell for N800. 

She observed that a small bag and a measure of maize, which sold for N24,000 and N350, now cost N21,000 and N300 respectively. Similarly, in Alekuwodo market in Osogbo, five big tubers of yam now cost N,3000 as against N4,500 before the harvest while a bag of maize sells for N22,000 against N24,000 previously. 

Tawa Ahmed, a food seller at the market, attributed the fall in the prices of foodstuffs to the ongoing harvest of farm produce. “Usually, prices of foodstuffs come down at this period of harvest but by the end of October, there may be slight changes in the prices when harvest of crops draw to a close,” Mrs. Ahmed said. On the contrary, however, Taye Babatunde, a foodstuff distributor at Oja Tuntun, noted that the price of beans had remained high in the last few months as a bag of white beans sells for N40,000 while a plastic measure costs N650. 

Mrs. Babatunde said that a bag of sweet beans, which was formerly sold for N25,000 and a plastic measure for N700, now costs N30,000 and N750 respectively. At Igbonna market in Osogbo, a bag of brown beans attracts N33,000, as against the initial price of N29,000 while a plastic measure, which formerly cost N600 now costs N700. Meanwhile, Moses Oladipupo, the Vice President of All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) in Osun, said that the newly-harvested crops had triggered 50 per cent drop in the prices of foodstuff generally in markets in the state. Mr. Oladipupo noted that most of the food crops being harvested were planted between March and June. 

He expressed optimism that the prices of foodstuff would further drop in the course of the harvest period. Also commenting, Ganiyu Awojobi, the AFAN Chairman in Ife East Local Government, concurred that the prices of foodstuff would further decline as the harvest progressed. He, however, argued that it was normal that when certain food crops were being harvested and made available in the market, their prices would drop in line with the law of demand and supply. 

In Ekiti, respondents said they were excited over the evident fall in the prices of foodstuff and their availability in the market. A farmer, Jide Ogunyemi, in Ikere Ekiti, said that farmers were actually relieved of the hardship associated with the ailing economy, saying that they would not relent in their efforts to sustain the trend. Mr. Ogunyemi, however, said that the state government needed to do more in the area of providing the enabling environment as well as incentives for farmers to further encourage them. 

He told NAN that many farmers in the state still lacked access to agricultural inputs and cash support to enable them to expand and maintain their farms. The peasant farmer noted that most of them would want to be equipped with agricultural skills, equipment and facilities, including storage, marketing and distribution of farm produce. In Kwara, the newly harvested crops also made some positive impact on the prices of foodstuff, as revealed in the NAN survey. 

For instance, in Baruten Local Government Area of the state, a measure of maize, which sold for N6,000 before, now costs N4,000 while six big tubers of yam now cost N2,000 as against N5 000 before the harvest period. However, the price of Guinea corn remained high as the crop was not yet due for harvest hence, one basin of Guinea corn sells for N6,000 as against N5,000 in May. A pepper seller who identified herself as ‘Iya Ramota Alata’, said that pepper had also witnessed price reduction as a bag of long pepper sells for between N6,500 and N7,000 as against N8,000 sold in May. 

She also said that the price of onion had also dropped with the arrival of the newly harvested commodity. According to her, a bag of white onion now sells for between N18,000 and N20,000 while the red onion sells for N15,000 to N18,000. Kayode Ehindero, the Chairman, Agriculture and Allied Employees Union (AAEU) in Kwara, attributed the drop in commodity prices to good harvest.

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Monsanto planning to takeover agriculture in Nigeria

As everyone knows, one American company called Monsanto has been on a determined march to take over agricultural production all over the world and enslave all farmers and countries to their commercial blood sucking logic. They have finally found a bridgehead into Nigeria where a door has been opened to allow them enter and takeover. They have been allowed to initiate so-called experimental farms to produce cotton and maize. Their point of entry has been the irresponsible National Biotechnology Development Agency, which has been compromised by Monsanto to provide an entry point to take over our agriculture.

This week, I write to support the great work currently being carried out by Nnimmo Bassey and his team at the Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) to resist the dangerous takeover of our agriculture by Monsanto. The Foundation has exposed the fact that GMOs have been approved to be grown in Nigeria and that the approval was surreptitious. There is an argument whether the approval was for a two-year trial process or for permanent production and for me, both must be opposed. At no time has the Nigerian Government taken a policy decision to approve GMOs and given the health dangers alone of this technology, it is irresponsible to allow this. We cannot allow the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) to sell our future for some temporary inducement they have received from Monsanto. How was it allowed that Monsanto Agriculture Nigeria Ltd would register in the country and start production without explicit approval the Federal Executive Council and the National Assembly?


Burkina Faso, which took the lead on GMO production in Africa, decided this year to abandoned its GMO cotton citing the inferior lint quality of Monsanto products and the enslavement of buying expensive seeds and chemicals from the company each year for an income that is less than what they were having before introducing it. It would be recalled that for a long time, Burkinabé cotton was renowned for its high quality following a highly successful non-GM breeding programme founded by the French government and spanning 70 years. 

The main goal of the breeding programme was to create cultivars that were well adapted to the growing conditions in West Africa and had the desired quality characteristics, such as a high ginning ratio, which is the percentage of the desired cotton fibre per unit weight of cotton delivered to the factory and long staple length. They foolishly decided to abandon the home grown approach and follow the GMO route of Monsanto and after six years of commercial production, they discovered that the quality and world market price of their cotton had plummeted. Cotton is the second-biggest source of revenue for the impoverished West African country after gold. It is this same GMO cotton that failed in Burkina Faso that is now being introduced to Nigeria.

I therefore call on the Ministers of Agriculture and the Environment to call the National Biosafety Management Agency to order and to withdraw the authorization issued for the production of GMO crops. Given our fragile ecosystems and stressed environment, we must take our biosafety seriously and avoid the path of introducing crops that are dangerous to the health of our people and our environment. Nineteen European countries that care about the health of their people have completely banned genetically modified crops. 

Even the Russian State Duma last month passed a bill banning all import and production of genetically modified organisms in the country. We must not allow Nigeria to be turned into a dumping ground for what sensible countries have rejected. Sincere scientists have shown evidence that Monsanto’s crops are genetically enhanced to tolerate the use of the herbicide glyphosate which was declared as a possible carcinogen by the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). The current Monsanto project to grow glyphosate infused maize in Nigeria is a direct threat to our health. Recent studies have linked glyphosate to health effects such as degeneration of the liver and kidney, and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. It is unfortunate that Bill Gates with his America First mentality is sponsoring Monsanto’s Water Efficient Maize for Africa, a five-year development project led by the Kenyan-based African Agricultural Technology Foundation, which aims to develop a variety of drought-tolerant maize seeds. Why will he not invest in the Institute of Agricultural Research project in Ahmadu Bello University that is developing draught resistant maize that does not have the dangers of what Monsanto is doing?

I have just read Chief Audu Ogbe’s Agriculture Promotion Policy 2016-2020 which outlines an excellent strategic approach to addressing the two key gaps in our agriculture today: an inability to meet domestic food requirements, and an inability to export at quality levels required for market success. The former problem is a productivity challenge driven by an input system and farming model that is largely inefficient. As a result, an aging population of farmers who do not have enough seeds, fertilizers, irrigation, crop protection and related support to be successful. The latter challenge is driven by an equally inefficient system for setting and enforcing food quality standards, as well as poor knowledge of target markets. Insufficient food testing facilities, a weak inspectorate system in the Ministry, and poor coordination among relevant federal agencies serve to compound early stage problems such as poor knowledge of permissible contaminant levels. 

The strategy he proposes is to address the challenges of food insecurity and the economic costs of importing $3 to $5 billion worth of food annually, especially wheat, rice, fish and sundry items, including fresh fruits by looking inward. The Ministry of Agriculture is proposing that agricultural research in the country should receive massive support. Our governments would engage its research institutions and bodies at different locations in the country, to conduct research for increased agricultural productivity and to make the research results available to farmers and other actors in the agricultural development of the states. That is the way to go. Was it not just a couple of weeks ago that the Institute of Agricultural Research of Ahmadu Bello University found a cure for the terrible blight of the tomato Ebola disease that wiped out fresh stew from our homes recently. Let’s empower our research institutes for our own good.

Daily Trust