A dramatic surge in fertilizer prices is forcing a fundamental shift in farming patterns across the country as of today, 10th of September with many smallholder farmers abandoning staple food crops for more lucrative cash crops to survive.
Data from the National Bureau of Statistics confirms a staggering 41% year-on-year increase in the price of fertilizer, a crippling blow to farmers already grappling with high fuel costs and insecurity. This input cost shock has made the cultivation of staples like maize, cassava, and rice which are nutrient-intensive, financially untenable for many.
Instead, a growing number are turning to cash crops such as cocoa, ginger, and sesame, which require less fertilizer application and command higher prices on the international market. “I can no longer afford to grow enough maize to break even,” said Adewale Ogunleye, a farmer in Oyo State. “With cocoa, the upfront cost is high, but the return is guaranteed. I have to choose between feeding the nation and feeding my own family.”
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Agricultural economists are warning that this trend threatens to exacerbate the nation’s already high food inflation and could lead to shortages of essential food items in the coming seasons. “This is a rational response from individual farmers, but a dangerous collective one,” explained Dr. Feyisara Adedoyin, an agricultural policy analyst. “We are potentially trading short-term individual gain for long-term national food security crisis.”
The price hike is attributed to global supply chain disruptions, the depreciation of the naira, which makes imported inputs more expensive, and the removal of the previous fertilizer subsidy. The government has announced plans to distribute subsidized fertilizers to mitigate the crisis, but farmers report that these programs have yet to reach them effectively.
As the planting season gets underway, the fields are telling a new story, one where economic survival is increasingly taking precedence over the cultivation of the nation’s staple foods.
