Farmers are not responsible for pricing in the market. Farmers produce and sell at the farm gate. They are not traders.

But they sell farm produce to traders who take them to the market. Why did you say they are not responsible for the high cost of food?

We only cover our cost of production and put a little margin. But we have to cover the prices of inputs used. It’s not the farmers that produce all the things people need. So, the farm gate prices are always very low. If you have to go to a market in Lagos, you are going to buy things at exorbitant prices because they are transported to Lagos, let’s say from Katsina. There will be a cost of transportation and traders will also be paid. Some of them even use middlemen. So, the middlemen will add their margins. This is the chain.

Why are beans, pepper, and onions expensive?

Let me tell you the story of beans or what we call cowpeas. Nigeria has always had a deficit. In 2021, we identified a 500,000 metric tonnes deficit. This means we have to import what we need. If you have to do that, that means you dollarise. There is a dollar component in it. Onions are cheap at this time; the only expensive things are tomatoes and pepper. When you go to suya spots, they put enough onions for you; they don’t put carrots and others. They don’t put enough pepper.

• Read More