Fuel: Local farmers fear rising cost of farm inputs
Some local farmers in Bwari Area Council of the FCT have expressed concerns over rise in cost of farm inputs, following increase on the price of fuel nationwide.
The farmers said this in an interview on Tuesday in Abuja, feared that the situation may affect food production.
Mr Baba Musa, also known as Sarkin Noma in Baran-goni community of the district, said that he was worried about the multiplier effect of the increase in fuel price on the prices of goods and services.
According to him, cost of fertiliser, pesticides and herbicides are already rising and I fear it will skyrocket with this development because their prices have staggered consistently before now.
“We are in the farming season, already, the demand for these inputs will be high and suppliers usually increase their prices during this period.
“With this now, I’m afraid that the whole situation may impede farmers’ ability to produce more food because there are some inputs we cannot do without and what if we cannot afford them now.
“We need assistance from government at all levels to boost food security the Federal Government has continuously advocated for, we cannot do this all by ourselves, “Musa said.
Similarly, Mr Akuso Yakubu, another farmer, said that his two large farms were located along the Bwari-Jere road, near the Kaduna – FCT border and was already having a hard time going to the farms.
He decried the already increased cost of transportation for both short and long distance routes.
According to him, both producers and consumers will be negatively affected by the price increase on goods and services because of the cost of fuel.
This, he added may cause food inflation and cause more strain on consumers especially.
He urged stakeholders in the agricultural sector to come up with measures that would bring succour to farmers in the country, which he added, must include subsidy on farm inputs.
Also, Ms Esther Haruna, a poultry farmer decried the situation while praying for divine intervention on the economic situation of the country.
Haruna said that the prices for chicks and chicken feeds had initially increased since 2022 and have remained high in spite of adequate supply from the producers.
“In January 2022, we bought chicken feeds for as low as N4,000 to N4,500 per bag but you won’t believe that this same product was sold in December of the same year for N9,700 to N10,000.
“We were hoping that after Christmas it will come down but here we are battling another reason for its hike in price.
“Presently, many homes cannot afford three square meals not to talk of including protein like meat to the food.
“I know the demand for chicken may decrease in several households, except we get orders from food vendors and event planners.
“I seriously pray for a divine intervention in this country,” she said.
Haruna also said some of the producers of the chicken feeds had initially complained about insufficient supply of grains for production of the feeds from major farms.
She added that if the fuel price negatively affected farmers’ production, supply would be limited and it would hence affect animal feed production as well, leading to shortage and increase in the cost of feeds.
