Food crisis loom as northern farmers opt for export to earn foreign currency

8th January 2025

Culled from The Punch

According to findings by The PUNCH, this envisaged situation is based on the decision by farmers in the northern part of the country to forgo local demand as the dry season approaches but export their bumper harvest to neighbouring countries in exchange for foreign currency.

The findings showed that while farmers in Kaduna and Kwara states complained of poor harvests caused by prolonged droughts and diversion of farm inputs by politicians, their counterparts in Jigawa, Kano, and Yobe confirmed the bumper harvest of crops, including millet, sorghum, beans, and maize.

They, however, highlighted that due to farmers guest for higher revenue, a significant portion of these produce were being exported to neighbouring countries like Niger Republic, Cameroun, Chad, Ghana and even as far as Asia and Europe.

The price of food, a major driver of Nigeria’s headline inflation that pegged at 34.60 per cent in November 2024, has been a recurring issue with the government failing in several attempts to adequately feed the nation or meet obligations to farmers.

Food inflation has also seen a sharp rise, reaching 39.93 per cent in November 2024, up from 32.84 per cent in the same period, leading to a hike in the cost of living amongst Nigerians.

Despite the obvious challenge posed by rising inflation, farmers have decided to export their food produce, thereby depleting their food reserves for foreign currencies, even as they face the looming threat of the upcoming dry season.

This development, which threatens food security in Nigeria, highlights the pressing economic pressures citizens battle, as they balance immediate financial gains with the long-term sustainability of their resources.

Some farmers who spoke the correspondents, said government at all levels must prioritize food security.

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A farmer in Damaturu, Mallam Abbati Malari, attributed the recent bumper harvest to adequate rainfall and its distribution, which prevented diseases and pest activities and not as a result of government reforms.

“The scarcity and high cost of food items have encouraged more people to venture into farming,” he explained.

“However, the government should acknowledge the long-standing presence of agricultural produce hoarders in the value chain, which has been ongoing for decades.”

Abbati also highlighted that grains like millet, sorghum, beans, and maize were consistently exported to Niger from states neighbouring the Niger Republic.

He emphasised that the government’s policy of devaluing the Naira has increased merchants’ purchasing power due to the significant gap between the CFA Franc and Naira values.

Similarly, Jigawa State farmers confirmed the bumper harvests in the region, but many of them said they choose to export their produce rather than sell locally.

Some other farmers also shared their varied views on the development.

Idris Maiunguwa, a farmer in Dutse, said, “There is high yield in rice, sesame, millet, among others across the state.”

Malam Muhammad Inuwa, a rice farmer from Hadejia Local Government Area added, “I harvested over 100 bags of rice per hectare, which is a significant increase from previous years.”

He attributed the success to the state government’s intervention in providing farm inputs and extension services.

However, many farmers are opting to export their produce due to the attractive prices offered by international buyers.

A sesame seed farmer from Dutse Local Government Area, Alhaji Abubakar, said, “Our farmers are getting better prices for our sesame seeds from buyers in Asia and Europe. It’s more profitable for us to export than to sell locally.”

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However, the Kano State chapter of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria accused some middlemen who come from the southern part of the country to purchase grains from farmers in the north as the promoters of local food export to other African countries.

The State AFAN chairman, Abdulrashid Magaji, made the complaint in a phone interview with The PUNCH on Tuesday.

“Most of those who engaged in exporting grains to outside Nigeria are middlemen from the southern part of the country. They come here (north) and purchase the commodities from our farmers.

“After buying the commodities and storing them in a warehouse, they now export them to neighbouring African countries like Niger, Cameroon, Chad and Ghana to maximise profits,” he said.

Magaji, who confirmed the bumper harvest this year, said the middlemen preferred to take the grains outside Nigeria because of the value of their currencies.

“Even CFA Franc (the currency used by the francophone countries) is stronger than our Naira, hence the reason why such middlemen export the grains to maximise profits,” the AFAN chairman said.

When contacted, the Coordinator, Federal Ministry of Agriculture in Jigawa State, Sale Salisu, expressed concerns over local farmers preference for foreign currencies.

Salisu said “We are calling on farmers to sell their produce locally to support the country’s food security and sufficiency drive. We are working on strategies to make local sales more attractive to farmers.”

He said, the Federal Government had committed money to subsidise inputs for farmers in Jigawa State.

“We want to see a return on this investment by having farmers sell their produce locally. We are exploring options to make this happen.”

Salisu stated that the Federal Government was working on policies to encourage local sales, including providing incentives for farmers who sell their produce locally.

“I believe the Nigerian Export Promotion Council has also been working to promote non-oil exports in Jigawa State, including agricultural produce. The council has engaged with farmers, exporters and other stakeholders to identify opportunities and challenges in the export value chain.”

Jigawa State Commissioner for Agriculture, Muttaka Namadi, told the correspondent, that “The state’s agricultural policy aims to make Jigawa a major hub for agricultural production and export in Nigeria.”

The Commissioner explained that, aside the economic benefits, selling produce locally also helped to improve food security in the state and the country by extension.

“We need to prioritise local consumption to ensure food security and sufficiency in our country.”

Meanwhile, Chairman, All Farmers Association of Nigeria, Kwara State chapter, Umar Aboki, said the drought, which lasted more than 40 days, affected farmers and led to low yields during last year’s cropping season.

“The long drought affected the yield of crops in every part of Kwara last year. There was no rain for more than 40 days and this affected all crops, including yam, maize, rice, guinea corn, millet and other annual crops. In fact, we recorded less than 50 per cent of the previous year’s yield in our farm harvest.”

Aboki, criticized the distribution of farm inputs by the Federal Government, channelled through politicians and did not get to the real farmers.

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“They were channeled through politicians, who included Senators, House of Representatives members and other political office holders but they did not get to the farmers in the state.”

While he commended the Kwara State Government for engaging the farmers associations in the state in the distribution of farm inputs, he lamented that the inputs did not cover more than 10 per cent of the farmers.

“But the governor should be commended for starting from somewhere,” Aboki said.

Meanwhile, the Kaduna State chapter, Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria, has disputed the claim by Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman Abdulrazaq, that farmers in the North were experiencing a bumper harvest in food production.

“Yes, of course, in one way or the other, the harvest was manageable. What he said might be from information he was fed with,” chairman of the body, Umar Numbu, said.

“For us here in Kaduna State, the Commissioner for Agriculture is doing well by supporting farmers with fertilisers and other inputs through the Federal Government’s intervention.

“On the bumper harvest as claimed by the governor, that I don’t know because for about three weeks, there was no rain. That period affected rice production in Kaduna state. The harvest is manageable,”

He also disagreed with Governor Abdulrazaq’s claim that farmers were exporting rice to other countries, stating that most rice millers in the state had shut down.

“So, I wouldn’t say where or how the farmers got bumper harvest that they even exported to other countries as claimed by the governor. I don’t think we are exporting rice out of the country as most of the millers have even shut down.”