Poor harvests of maize and rice attributable to insufficient and irregular rainfall might worsen meals insecurity and set off additional will increase in meals costs throughout Nigeria, the Kaduna State chairman of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Nuhu Aminu, has warned.
Aminu advised LEADERSHIP yesterday that insufficient rainfall in the course of the 2026 farming season affected the expansion and yield of main meals crops, leaving farmers with decreased harvests and elevating issues about meals availability.
He defined that some maize crops withered and dried up as a result of rainfall was inadequate to assist their progress, whereas rice manufacturing was additionally affected in areas that obtained insufficient water.
The AFAN chairman mentioned the poor harvests had coincided with rising meals costs, noting {that a} bag of maize which beforehand offered for about N20,000 now prices between N30,000 and N40,000.
He added that the worth of native rice had additionally elevated from N48,000 to between N62,000 and N70,000.
Aminu warned that decreased crop yields might worsen starvation within the nation, urging the federal government to accentuate assist for dry-season farming to bridge the shortfall in meals manufacturing.
He mentioned elevated dry-season cultivation was obligatory to enhance meals provides, including that farmers would wrestle to make up for the manufacturing losses with out satisfactory assist.
Similarly, a farmer, Tambaya, mentioned unpredictable climate circumstances had pressured him to replant a number of crops, together with rice, beans and sorghum, thereby rising his manufacturing prices and labour necessities.
He additionally lamented the shortage of entry to irrigation amenities, saying farmers remained closely depending on seasonal rainfall regardless of its rising unpredictability.
The farmer warned that poor yields might additional worsen meals insecurity and push up market costs as decreased harvests have an effect on the provision of staple crops.
Tambaya mentioned he had invested about N6 million or extra in cultivating eight hectares of farmland, together with his anticipated returns of about N12 million now unsure due to the losses recorded in the course of the season.
A foodstuff dealer, Ngozi Edeh, additionally lamented the sudden enhance within the costs of staple meals objects, saying the rising price of commodities had made it more and more troublesome for merchants and shoppers to manage.
She mentioned the frequent value adjustments had affected clients’ buying energy, with many now struggling to afford portions of meals they beforehand purchased at decrease costs.
An agricultural knowledgeable, Yunusa Abdullahi, referred to as on the federal government to put money into the development and rehabilitation of dams to enhance entry to water for irrigation and cut back farmers’ dependence on rainfall.
Abdullahi additionally urged the federal government to offer farmers with the required assist to increase dry-season farming, saying elevated irrigation-based manufacturing would assist increase meals provides, enhance agricultural output and cut back the danger of meals shortages.
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