Some farmers and food sellers in the South-South region have expressed concerns over the high cost of food irrespective of the harvest season.
The stakeholders, who responded to a survey in Akwa Ibom, Rivers and Cross Rivers, said that a remarkable fall in food prices was witnessed during the previous harvest season.
The stakeholders maintained that only a few food items recorded very insignificant price drops during the current season.
Speaking in Port Harcourt, Rivers, a foodstuff seller, Mrs Benedicta Amadi, said the impact of the harvest season was not felt by consumers due to the high cost of transportation.
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Amadi said that a greater percentage of her business profit was currently being factored into transportation costs which had led to increased costs.
She explained that during the 2023 harvest season, a sizable tuber of yam was sold for N800 while currently, the same size was being sold for between N4,000 and N6,000.
‘’Perishable items such as tomatoes, onion and pepper recorded an incomparable price disparity between the 2023 and 2024 harvest seasons.
‘’A basket of pepper which was sold between N1,500 and N3,000 in 2023 is now sold at almost N16,000. It is the same with tomatoes, onions and others,” she said.
Amadi said the prices of rice, beans and corn might drop during the dry season in some parts of the country, saying,” This might not be felt in Rivers if the current transportation situation persists.”
She urged the federal government to be proactive towards implementing its palliative measures in the transportation sector, saying that such will impact positively on food prices.
Similarly, a cassava farmer, Mr. Godwin Akandu, noted that currently, only an insignificant fall in the prices of ‘garri’ and vegetables had been recorded when compared to their costs a few months ago.
He attributed the price difference to the premature harvest of cassava and vegetables, a measure adopted by farmers to reduce loss in the event of flood disaster.
“Garri, a cassava by-product and staple food for households in the state has recorded a huge price gap between the 2023 and 2024 harvest seasons.
She said that a bag of rice was currently sold for between N80,000 and N85,000 as against N50,000 which was the cost in January.
She said that multiple market unions was a contributing factor to the current price increase.
Also speaking, the Chairman, All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Akwa Ibom Chapter, , Mr Bassey Inwang, listed high cost of fuel, herders menace and inadequate farmland as part of the factors causing high cost of food.
Inwang outlined the parameters the government should put in place in order to ensure food availability and sufficiency for the people.
He said that timely distribution of farm inputs, grants and loans to farmers would enhance early cultivation because agriculture remained time bound activity.
