Some farmers and food sellers in the South-South region have expressed concerns over the high cost of food notwithstanding the harvest season.
The stakeholders, who spoke during a survey in Akwa Ibom, Rivers and Cross Rivers states said that remarkable fall in food prices were witnessed during the previous harvest season.
The stakeholders maintained that only a few food items recorded insignificant price drops during the current season.
Speaking in Port Harcourt, Rivers, a footsuff seller, Benedicta Amadi, said that the impact of the harvest season was not felt by consumers due to the high cost of transportation.
Mrs Amadi said that a greater percentage of her business profit was currently being channelled to transportation which had led to increased costs.
She explained that during the 2023 harvest season, a sizable tuber of yam was sold for N800 while currently, the same size was being sold for between N4,000 and N6,000.
‘’Perishables items such as tomatoes, onion and pepper recorded an incomparable price disparity between 2023 and 2024 harvest season. A basket of pepper which was sold between N1,500 and N3,000 in 2023 is now almost N16,000. It is the same with tomatoes, onions and others,” she said.
Mrs Amadi said that the prices of rice, beans and corn might drop during the dry season in some parts of the country, saying,” this might not be felt in Rivers State if the current transportation situation persists”
She urged the Federal Government to be proactive towards implementing its palliative measures in the transportation sector, saying that such would impact positively on food prices.
Similarly, a cassava farmer, Godwin Akandu, noted that currently only an insignificant fall in the prices of ‘garri’ and vegetables had been recorded compared to their costs a few months ago
He attributed the price difference to the premature harvest of cassava and vegetables, a measure adopted by farmers to reduce loss in the event of flood disaster.
He said, “Garri, a cassava by-product and staple food for households in the state, has recorded a huge price gap between the 2023 and 2024 harvest seasons. A basin of garri sold for N7,000 in 2023, now sells for between N16,000 and N18,000, since both the production and transportation processes are dependent on petrol.’’
Mr Akandu who is the President, Etche Farmers Cooperative Union, urged the state government to urgently key into the Federal Government agricultural programme to enhance food availability in the state.
He urged the state government to invest in mechanised agriculture through collaborative engagements with farmers as being done in other states to overcome the challenge of high food prices.
In his contribution, Programme Manager, Agricultural Development Program, Christopher Tamuno, disclosed that the state would soon benefit from agro-inputs distribution from the Federal Government.
He explained that the distribution which was delayed by the nationwide hunger protests was part of the Federal Government’s agricultural palliative expected to boost food production.
Mr Tamuno, however, assured of ADP’s readiness to further enhance agriculture through the training and re-training of farmers in the state.
In Akwa Ibom, a foodstuff seller at Udua Nka Market in Eket, Happiness Oboh, said that the change in price of foodstuff during the current harvest season was insignificant.
She said that there were insignificant drops in the cost of commodities, especially farm produce.
“A bag of garri which sold for N120,000 in May, now sells for N105,000, but a tuber of yam which sold for N10,000 in May currently sells