JUST IN; Bumper harvests: Prices of food items stabilising in Nigeria

As bumper harvests are being recorded in parts of Nigeria, the expected multiplier effects on the prices of farm produce have been a mixed-grilled in Kano, Kaduna and Katsina States.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) learnt that the prices have gone down in parts of Kano State, as well as Zaria and Kafanchan in Kaduna State.
NAN however gathered that some of the prices have remained high in parts of Kaduna city and Katsina State.
Investigations by NAN in the three states showed that several factors were responsible for the varying prices of foodstuffs.
It was also observed that the development has taken a huge toll on the purchasing power of the ordinary citizens in the three states.
In Kano State, the prices of food items were coming down as new harvests reached the markets.
A survey conducted by NAN revealed that the prices of some grains have reduced.
However, local rice, which is still experiencing a high demand, remains costly, with a bag going for between N150,000 and N170,000.
A bag of maize was selling for N95,000 as against N105,000.
Similarly, a bag of millet, which was sold for N90,000, now goes for N80,000.
A bag of beans that previously sold for between NN170,000 and N180,000 sold at N130,000, depending on the quality.
A bag of groundnut sold between N150,000 and N170,000 as against N200,000 in July.
Furthermore, the price of tomatoes has crashed in Kano as onions’ price also witnessed an increase.
A bowl and a measure of tomatoes that used to be sold for N3,200 and N3,500, have been reduced to N2,400 and N2,000, respectively.
The survey revealed that a bag of onions was also going for N70,000.
A produce dealer, Malam Tanko Idris, attributed the availability of products to bumper harvests.
Another trader, Abubakar Labaran, also said that the increase in the price of onion was due to the fact that the product was severely affected by the recent rains.
This, he said, led to a shortage in supply and a subsequent increase in the prices.
He added that tomato farming was successful, which led to a surplus in supply and a subsequent decrease in.the prices.
A customer , Musa Shanono, expressed optimism that the prices of food items would crash further before November.
“When people don’t produce but consume more, there is bound to be food shortage and the economy will become weak,” he said.
Another customer, Ibrahim Ali, appealed to the traders to desist from hoarding food in an attempt to make more gains.
Aisha Ali suggested the use of an adequate storage system to preserve some perishable items like tomatoes during the harvest season, to prepare for their scarcity.
According to her, the newly-harvested crops have triggered a 30 per cent drop in the prices of foodstuff generally in markets.
In Kafanchan, farmers have attributed the reduction in the prices of foodstuffs to a bumper harvest from their farms.
The farmers made this known in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria in Kafanchan.
Amos Barnabas, a large-scale farmer, said food prices were gradually coming down in the markets because the farmers have started harvesting their crops.
Ladi Gimba, a tomato seller, told NAN that tomatoes were now cheaper than they were at the beginning of the year.
According to her, a basket of tomatoes now goes for N22, 000 as against N35000 a few months back.
She added that a basket of the produce went for N17, 000 this same harvest period in 2023.
Another farmer, Kambai Modecai, said he expects food prices to further crash in the coming months following the Federal Government’s suspension of import duties on food items.
Modecai sai that though the import waiver on food items was a welcome development, he believed Nigeria was capable of feeding herself without opening up the borders.
In Zaria, also in Kaduna State, the prices of agricultural commodities have stabilised in August at major markets within the zone, especially at the Anchau weekly market in Kubau LGA.
On Aug. 6 and Aug. 13 hybrid maize ( white, red and yellow) was going for N85, 000 for a 100kg bag.
Also, local maize (white and yellow) was going ₦75,000 per a 100kg bag.
Similarly, Soybean was going for between ₦90000 and 95,000 per 100kg bag, while Sorghum (short kaura and white) was ₦82000 per 100kg bag.
Also, Cowpea (white and brown) was being sold for between N160, 000 and 190,000 per 100kg bag.
Millet (Dauro) was going for ₦86000 per 100kg; Paddy rice ₦60000 per 80kg while milled rice was ₦140000 per 100kg bag.
On Aug. 7 at the Saminaka market, Lere LGA, the prices of maize has dropped to N73,000 for a hybrid variety while local rice was N70000 for a 100kg bag.
Paddy Rice was between N58,000 and N60,000; Soybean N90,000, Sorghum N73,000 Cowpea dropped to N140,000 and N160,000.
However, the prices were slightly higher In Giwa LGA on Thirsday as a 100kg bag of maize was going for between N88,000 and 91,000.
Paddy Rice was between N65,000 and N70,000,Soybean was sold at N96,000 while Sorghum was N90,000.
Millet was going for N90,000, a 100kg bag of Cowpea Brown N200,000 while white Cowpea was N165,000.
In Kaduna city and its environs, some Kaduna residents said that the news being peddled on the reduction in prices of food items was not the reality in markets.
Both the consumers and sellers of food items and other essentials told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that there was no significant change in the food prices.
Mas’ud Abubakar, who sells food items at the Kasuwan Barci market, said the prices of food items have remained the same for the last two weeks.
He said a measure of rice was sold at N2400, beans at N2700 while wheat and garri were being sold at N1600 and N1300, respectively.
Zahradeen Kabir, another food items seller stated there was an increase in the price of some items, saying he sells a mudu of rice at N2,700 against N2,400 initial price.
On her part, Amina Mohammed, a consumer, said she had bought a mudu of rice at N2,300 recently against N2400 initial price, saying the difference was too insignificant.
She said that the prices of beans and corn flour have remained the same, urging the government and other stakeholders to make food affordable for the people.
In Katsina State, the prices of food items were still high, as the prices for perishable commodities were decreasing.
A NAN Survey showed that this development was in spite of the fact that the farmers have started harvesting new crops.
Yet, the prices of some food items remained higher while those of tomatoes and other perishables kept decreasing.
A check by NAN in some parts of the state like Katsina metropolis, Daura, Malumfashi and Kankia, revealed that the residents were frightened by the situation.
However, the residents were expecting a reasonable decrease in the prices of food items as the farmers have already started harvesting crops like millet, beans and maize in some parts of the country.
The survey revealed that a 50kg of local rice now costs about N75, 600 as against the previous N83, 300, and above, depending on the quality of the rice.
A 100kg bag of beans, which was sold at N200,000 and above before, now dropped to about N168,000, also depending on the quality and the market.
A measure of beans now sells at a price around N4,200, against the former price of N5,000 and above.
However, a 100kg bag of millet was sold at a price between N85,000 and N100,000, in many places.
The survey showed that there was no change in the price as it was sold the same price some months back.
A 100kg of maize was sold at N92,000, while a measure cost N2,300 and above in many places.
Malam Yusuf Ibrahim, a family man, described the situation as worrisome, though there was a slight decrease in some places.
“I recently bought a bowl of local rice and beans at N4,500 and N4,200, respectively, as against N4,900 and N5,100 last month.
“It is a harvest period, so, the prices of food items will continue falling day-by-day, as new crops are coming to the markets,” he said.
On his part, Malam Bala Mai-Doya, a yam dealer in Katsina, said that they were still battling with the higher prices.
He said, “Even if there is a reduction in the price, it is not as expected.”
Madam Grace Audu, a restaurant operator in the metropolis, said she no longer sells pounded yam due to the high cost of yam in the market.
“It has been a long time since I bought yam, because of its high cost,” she said.
The survey further revealed that, following the frequent rainfall being experienced in the state, the prices of tomatoes have reduced across some markets.
Malam Abubakar Adamu, a perishables seller at Kasuwan Gwari, told NAN that the price of the different baskets of tomatoes had drastically reduced compared to a few months ago.
According to him, a big basket of tomatoes, which was sold at about N120, 000 to N150,000 a few months back, was now being sold from N20,000 to N25,000.
He added that a small and medium basket that was sold at N40,000 to N50,000, was now N10,000 and below.
Adamu attributed the reduction to bumper harvest during the rainy season.
“It will continue to go down up to the time that everyone can afford to buy,” he averred.
Malam Abdulrahman Sani, a household leader, said a few months back, he spent about N1,500 to prepare a stew, but now he spends not more than N500 on vegetables to prepare.a soup.
“We are happy with this development, because most family people found it challenging a few months ago.
“We hope the prices will keep coming down,’’ he enthused.
NAN further reports that most of the farmers were predicting bumper harvests and expecting further reduction in the prices of all farm produce.
The farmers commended the state government for selling 20,000 metric tons of fertilizer to the farmers at subsidised prices.
The fertilizers were sold at N25,000 per bag of NPK and Urea, which costs N38,000 to N40,000 and above in the markets.
The government recruited over 772 extension workers, provided them with motorcycles and other equipment.
This was to enable them to move around to enlighten the farmers on how to improve their productivity.
Gov. Dikko Radda said during the launch of the sales of the fertilizers that improving agricultural productivity was another way to fight poverty.
“Agriculture is our major occupation, that is why we created the Katsina State Irrigation Authority.
“The aim was to have all- year-round irrigation farming in the state, that will reduce redundancy, and keep everybody busy.
“Because now we are only doing rainy season farming that lasts for only three or four months, within which people would be out of business for about eight months.
“You have to add value to what you produce, if you don’t add value, you can’t achieve anything.
“Achieving or increasing productivity can only be done through proper education of the farmers on how to go about doing farming and consider it as a business, not like normal farming,” he said. (NAN)