Food price cut: Nigerian farmers slam Tinubu for encouraging rice, maize imports
Nigerian farmers have raised concerns over the takeover of imported rice and maize in the country’s markets at the expense of locally made grains.
Farmers expressed their frustration in separate statements on X, noting that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s policy is killing local cultivation of maize and rice.
The development comes as rice and maize prices dropped across Nigerian markets nationwide.
Farmers have attributed the reduction in the price of rice and maize to the surplus import of the products into the country.
Recall that the Federal Government in July last year announced a 150-day import waiver for rice, maize, and other staple foods.
The policy had resulted in a drop in the prices of food, the Comptroller-General of Nigeria Customs, Bashir Adeniyi, said in his declaration of first-quarter revenue.
It was originally designed for July to December 2024 and has led to a drop in some food items.
SOCIETY WATCH market survey found that a 50-kilogramme bag of rice costs N65,000 to N68,000, and maize sells for N35,000 to N37,000 per bag, while foreign ones cost N83,000 per bag.
This has reduced the profit margin for local rice and maize farmers, resulting in advocacy against the products’ continued production in Nigeria.
Surge in fertilizer prices
Worsening the situation is the surge in the price of fertilisers, which has resulted in increased cost of production and has further compounded bottom-line price issues.
