The All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), has warned that a rise in food prices is imminent.
The farmers told Nigerians to prepare for doubled food prices from August.
The prices of staple menu like beans, rice and garri may jump by as high as 50 per cent from next month, they warned.
According to the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), farmers have been sacked from their farmland by the heightened insecurity across the country.
AFAN’s local chapter chairman in Lagos State, Otunba Femi Oke, said a 100 kg bag of beans could sell for more than N100, 000 as from August.
The bag of brown beans, which sold for N47, 000 in June last year, was already selling for N82, 000.
In July 2020, a 50kg of beans sold for N12, 750. But the price went up to N30, 000 by January last year and rose to N45, 000 six months after.
Also, a four-litre paint bucket of beans now sells for between ¦ 2, 500 to ¦ 3, 000.
Similarly, the prices of corn, rice and soybean have risen, following insecurity which has contributed to declining supply and high production costs.
The price of a 50kg bag of rice, which sold for between N21, 125 and N28, 500 in July 2020, also rose last year.
A 50kg sack of garri, which was offered for N11, 500 in July 2020, had gone up to N14, 500 a year later.
There was a jump from a 50kg of maize from N17, 250 in July 2020 to N17, 500 in January 2021. The price has hit N24, 000.
A basket of tomatoes which sold for N8, 500 in July 2020 rose within two years to N25, 000. The price of a tonne of cassava rose from N18, 000 in March 2020 to between N100, 000 to N130, 000.
The rise in prices of corn, rice and soybeans, have affected the prices of eggs prices, following increase in the price of poultry feeds.
A crate of eggs has gone to between N1, 700 and N2, 500, depending on location and sizes.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) confirmed in its report that the price of selected food items have continued to increase.
Its report showed that the average price of one kg of beans rose on a year-on-year basis by 44.32 per cent from N359.64 in April 2021 to N519.05 in April 2022.
Also, on a month-on-month basis, the price increased by 2.59 per cent to N505.94 in March this year.
The rising food prices triggered inflation, with vegetables, oil and meat seeing particularly large increases, according to various figures.
Food constitutes the biggest component of goods used to measure prices, according to NBS projections.
Oke attributed the trend to growing insecurity that has driven farmers from the farms.
He urged the government to confront the impact of the current security crisis on strategic food commodities.
Aside from insurgency, he noted that banditry across farmlands has taken a toll on the sector, driving farmers away from cultivating crops and putting a strain on food production.
The AFAN chief warned that insecurity would take the prices of food out of the reach of Nigerians.
He noted that banditry; kidnappings for ransom and threats of gunmen attacks have forced many farmers to flee Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states.
According to him, a guarantee of security for the affected population would encourage them to return to the farms.
