Farmers in Nigeria's food-producing heartland, Benue State, are sounding the alarm over a deepening financial crisis triggered by rapidly falling prices for their crops. While consumers welcome cheaper food, the agricultural community is struggling to survive as the cost of production remains stubbornly high, creating an unsustainable imbalance.
The Plight of the Peasant Farmer
The situation is particularly dire for the state's vast population of peasant farmers, who rely on subsistence farming without the benefit of mechanisation. Tarchagh Orokaa, one such farmer, voiced a common grievance to The Guardian. He accused the Federal Government of taking deliberate steps to crash food prices without implementing corresponding support measures for those who produce the food. "The cost of producing crops now far outweighs the market value of such crops," Orokaa lamented, highlighting the direct cause of the widespread financial distress.
Soaring Inputs vs. Falling Returns
The core of the problem lies in the stark contrast between input costs and market returns. Investigations reveal that during the recent planting season, a bag of fertiliser sold for between N35,000 and N50,000 in the open market, depending on the brand. In a crushing turnaround at harvest, farmers now find that a bag of paddy rice sells for a mere N27,000 to N30,000. This means the cost of a key input alone can exceed the entire revenue from a bag of the finished crop, making farming a loss-making venture.
Another farmer, Mr. Anyuenge Swem, expanded the critique. He pointed out that while the government has imported food items like cereals to force prices down, it has failed to address the fundamental drivers of inflation. "It had not attended to the main inflation markers like the pump price of PMS and the toll on transportation, which greatly impacts the general cost of goods," Swem stated. This oversight means farmers bear the brunt of high fuel and transport costs without recouping them through sales.
Low Morale and Threats of Abandonment
The frustration among Benue's farming community is palpable. A cross-section of farmers expressed that while reducing food prices is beneficial for consumers, doing so without considering the producer's plight is profoundly unfair. The morale is critically low. Many farmers with alternative means of income have already decided their course of action: they will not engage in farming during the next season to avert further losses. This potential exodus from farming poses a significant long-term threat to food security in the region and the nation.
The crisis in Benue underscores a critical fault line in agricultural policy. Without a sustainable model that balances affordable food for consumers with viable livelihoods for farmers, the backbone of Nigeria's food production system risks breaking. The events reported on 8 December 2025 in Makurdi signal an urgent need for a policy review that cushions farmers against market shocks they cannot control.
