November 3, 2025
Farmers have blamed the sudden drop in prices of staple foods, on the Federal Government recent food import policy, farmers in the South South states who are lamenting their plight said the policy was to the detriment of their huge investment in the 2025 farming season.
The farmers from Bayelsa, Edo and Delta states said unless the government is willing to help with post-harvest facilities across the country and stabilize prices henceforth, the import policy might have consequences on the 2026 farming season.
Speaking to journalists, the farmers noted that abundance of crops, combined with the Federal Government’s food importation policy and lingering structural challenges, have left many farmers counting their losses instead of profits.
Chairman of the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria, RIFAN, in Asaba, Delta, the State , Mr Sylvanus Ejezie, said most farmers who took loans to expand their farms, expecting good returns, but are now unable to repay due to crash in prices.
“This year’s harvest is good compared to last year no floods, fewer herder clashes, and more people went into farming, but the government’s import policy, crashed prices below expectations ,” Ejezie said.
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He decried the drop in price of a 50kg bag of locally produced rice from between N75,000 and N80,000 a few months ago to between N55,000 and N57,000 now
“We are not happy because the importation of cereals like rice, maize, and beans has made the locally produced ones less valuable.
He added that “Those who borrowed money are finding it difficult to repay. I spent over N5 million this season, but my returns can’t even cover half of the cost of production.”
Ejezie also raised concerns about the high cost of farm inputs such as fertilisers, noting that NPK and Urea, now sell for between N36,000 and N40,000 have further worsened their situation.
He solicited government support for farmers in the areas of storage facilities and subsidies to sustain production next season.
“If we had good storage systems, the government could buy off our surplus or pay compensatory subsidies, without that, many farmers will quit in 2026,” he cautioned.
A cassava farmer in Delta, the policy has caused a devastating situation for farmers.
“A bag of garri that used to sell between N12,000 and N15,000 has fell to as low as N6,000 stressing that it’s now cheaper to buy from the market then for one to process. I’ve switched to another business to make ends meet,” she said.
Farmers in Bayelsa, are not left out in the agony brought upon them by the policy, an agricultural technologist, Atie Beredugo, cited insecurity, poor infrastructure, and climate change as some of the challenges affecting productivity.
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“Bad roads and lack of processing factories cause huge post-harvest losses. Farmers struggle to transport their produce or store it before spoilage sets in,” he said.
He added that unpredictable weather patterns, especially flooding, have disrupted cassava farming.
“In upland areas, cassava can mature over time. But here, if the flood comes early, you lose everything,” he explained.
In Edo, the situation depicts both hope and frustration, farmers, like Monday Igbovo and Ohioze Ogieva, expressed frustration over poor infrastructure and the high cost of labour and inputs.
“The government deal with political farmers instead of we the real farmers.
“We need fair distribution and better rural transportation,”
READ MORE; Federal government set to regulate price of imported foodstuffs:
Across the states, the trend has revealed a worrying pattern seeking government attention rather importing produce to the detriment of local farmers
Experts warned that unless deliberate price stabilisation mechanisms, storage infrastructure, and fair trade policies are implemented, Nigeria could face another food shortage and inflation spike by late 2026.
The farmers also want the federal government to deliver on the incentives it has promised to curb unemployment and create sustainable food security through agriculture.
