Agricultural stakeholders have pushed for extensive subsidies on fertilisers and inputs to boost output and lower the rising cost of staple foods.
According to them, the action was necessary to improve farmers’ access to inputs, value addition, and enterprising abilities in order to attain national food security.
Despite the ongoing harvest and the federal government’s palliative steps to mitigate the consequences of rising food prices, the call was made against the backdrop of galloping inflation on staple foods.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the inflation rate increased to 33.88 per cent, as earlier reported by Entrepreneurng.
The high cost of fuel and electricity, among other things, caused it to rise by 1.18 per cent from the 32.70 per cent reported in September 2024.
In response to a poll on food inflation in Bauchi, Dutse, and Gombe conducted by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the stakeholders—who included experts, farmers, and government officials—stated as much.
According to a check conducted by NAN correspondents in Dutse and Gombe, the recent harvesting season caused food prices to modestly decline by around 10%.
A 50-kilogram bag of local variety rice at Gombe market cost N75,000, compared to N85,000 over the previous four weeks.
In Dutse, Jigawa State, grain likewise showed a comparable drop in pricing. Sorghum and millet were sold for N1,800 and N1,600 respectively, compared to their previous prices of N2,500 and N2,300.
