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| Abubakar Kyari |
Nigeria is growing more food than before, yet prices in the market
remain stubbornly high. Agriculture Minister Abubakar Kyari has explained
the puzzle in clear terms: production at the farm level has improved under
President Bola Tinubu’s administration, but the journey from farm to
consumer still has major gaps.
According to Kyari, data shows
that prices at the farm gate have dropped noticeably. Farmers are
producing more, and input costs for them have stabilised thanks to
government subsidies on fertiliser and seeds. Improved security has also
allowed farmers to return to lands they once abandoned, delivering bumper
harvests in 2024 and an even bigger one in 2025. Officials expect the 2026
wet-season harvest to beat last year’s record.
The problem, the minister said, is what happens after the crops leave the
farm. Agro-processing has not become cheaper. Distribution networks remain
weak. As a result, the lower farm-gate prices do not fully reach ordinary
buyers in the markets and shops. Consumers still feel the pinch.
Kyari
pointed to deeper structural issues. Nigeria’s population grows by eight
to nine million people every year. Twenty-five years ago the country was
half its current size; in another 25 years it could double again.
Agricultural productivity stays low, access to land is limited, and the
cost of quality seeds and other inputs has historically been high. These
factors keep the country dependent on imported food, especially processed
items.
The government is fighting back on several fronts. It is
promoting mechanisation—tractors are already working on farms and are
being monitored to cover 500–600 hectares each year. It has banned the
export of some raw products such as shea nuts so that value can be added
locally. Special Agro-Processing Zones are being built; eight are expected
to begin operations before the end of next year, with more planned. These
zones will handle production, storage, processing and marketing in one
place, cutting the distance between farm and market.
Kyari
insisted the country is on the right track. Farm production is rising,
security is improving, and interventions from the Ministry of Agriculture,
Bank of Agriculture and the National Agricultural Development Fund are
helping farmers. The missing piece remains efficient processing and
distribution. Until those links strengthen, Nigerians will continue to pay
high prices even while more food is being grown.
The next set
of official harvest figures is due between October and November. They will
show whether the production gains continue—and whether the gaps that keep
prices high finally begin to close.