The Senate has urged the Federal Government to subsidise fertilisers and revive commodity boards to stabilise agricultural markets and protect millions of Nigerian farmers from collapsing produce prices amid soaring input costs.
The resolutions followed consideration of a motion sponsored by Senator Mohammed Danjuma Goje (Gombe Central), which highlighted the widening gap between falling farm-gate prices and the persistently high cost of inputs such as fertilisers, pesticides, and insecticides.
Goje, in the motion titled “The need to address the falling prices of agricultural produce in relation to the very high cost of farm inputs: A big problem to the livelihood of millions of Nigerian farmers,” noted that while food prices have eased nationwide, farmers are increasingly under pressure.
Leading the debate, Goje commended the Federal Government for reducing food prices through import waivers and special permissions for large-scale food importation, saying the measures had brought relief to consumers.
However, he warned that the same policies had created unintended hardship for local farmers, as cheaper imports depress prices of domestically produced food.
He observed that although produce prices continue to decline, the cost of farm inputs remains extremely high, squeezing farmers’ margins and threatening their livelihoods.
He expressed concern that the resulting market distortion has led to massive post-harvest losses, with farmers unable to sell their produce at fair or profitable rates, causing spoilage, income erosion, and serious economic setbacks in farming communities.
Lawmakers in their contributions warned that sustained declines in farm-gate prices could discourage farmers from investing in the next planting season, posing a serious risk to domestic food production, rural economic activity, and national food security.
They also cautioned that growing dependence on imported food commodities could weaken Nigeria’s food sovereignty, undermine local value chains, distort markets, and expose the economy to global price volatility and foreign exchange pressures.
In approving the first two prayers of the motion, the Senate urged the Federal Government to immediately roll out a special emergency intervention package for farmers affected by the current price collapse to cushion losses and protect household livelihoods.
It also resolved that the government should establish benchmark minimum prices for major agricultural commodities and introduce a guaranteed off-take programme, under which public agencies would purchase produce directly from farmers at agreed prices to stabilise the market.
Lawmakers stressed that such measures would effectively revive the role of commodity boards and prevent farmers from being forced to sell their produce at ruinous prices.
Beyond fertiliser subsidies, the Senate called for increased investment in storage facilities, rural roads, processing centres and irrigation systems to reduce post-harvest losses and improve farmers’ profitability.
It also urged stronger coordination among ministries, departments and agencies, state governments, commodity boards, cooperatives and other stakeholders to ensure fair pricing, efficient transportation and improved market linkages.
In addition, lawmakers asked the Federal Government to review the current import waiver and special permit regime to ensure Nigerian farm produce can compete fairly with imported alternatives, while safeguarding local producers.
