The Nigerian Senate on Tuesday expressed concern over the worsening economic hardship facing Nigerian farmers following a sharp decline in the prices of agricultural produce, despite the persistently high cost of farm inputs.
The concern followed a motion sponsored by the Senator representing Gombe Central, Mohammed Danjuma Goje, titled “The Need to Address the Falling Prices of Agricultural Produce in Relation to the Very High Cost of Farm Inputs: A Big Problem to the Livelihood of Millions of Nigerian Farmers.”
Leading the debate, Goje noted that while recent federal government policies particularly the granting of waivers and special permits for large-scale food imports have helped reduce food prices and provided relief to consumers, they have inadvertently created severe economic challenges for local farmers.
He explained that farm-gate prices for produce have continued to fall, even as the prices of essential inputs such as fertilizers, pesticides and insecticides remain extremely high, squeezing farmers’ profit margins and threatening their survival.
The Senate further observed that the imbalance has led to massive post-harvest losses, with farmers unable to sell their produce at fair or profitable rates, resulting in wastage, spoilage and income erosion across farming communities.
Lawmakers warned that the situation poses a grave threat to millions of smallholder farmers who form the backbone of Nigeria’s food production system and depend almost entirely on agriculture for their livelihoods.
Contributing to the debate, Senator Aliyu Wamakko, representing Sokoto North, said the government must intensify efforts to protect farmers while ensuring food availability for all Nigerians. He stressed that sustaining local agricultural production was critical to long-term food security and economic stability.
The Senate also expressed concern that continued decline in farm-gate prices could discourage farmers from investing in the next planting season, potentially leading to reduced domestic food production, rural economic stagnation and heightened food insecurity.
It warned that growing dependence on food imports could weaken national food sovereignty, undermine domestic agricultural value chains, distort local markets and expose the economy to global price volatility and foreign exchange pressures.
Accordingly, the Senate resolved to urge the Federal Government to design and implement a comprehensive Special Emergency Intervention Package to cushion farmers affected by the collapse in produce prices.
It also called for the establishment of a benchmark minimum price framework for major agricultural commodities and a guaranteed off-take programme under which government would purchase produce directly from farmers at benchmark prices to stabilize the market.
Additionally, lawmakers urged the introduction of broad-based subsidies for agricultural inputs, particularly fertilizers, as well as increased investment in storage facilities, rural roads, processing centres and irrigation infrastructure to reduce post-harvest losses.
The Senate further appealed to the Federal Government to review the current import waiver and special permit policy to ensure that locally produced agricultural commodities can compete favourably with imported food items.
The motion was unanimously adopted by the Senate.
