Tag: foodstuff

Some perishable food prices have crashed by about 50 per cent amid the ongoing nationwide hunger protest, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

The protest with hashtag #EndBadGovernanceinNigeria is planned to end on 10 August.

It is aimed at calling the Federal Government’s attention to the economic hardship facing Nigerians.

Some traders and buyers at Ile-epo food market at Alimosho/Agege area of Lagos state, confirmed the development in separate interviews with NAN on Friday in Lagos.

NAN reports that local food markets across the area witnessed less activities than usual due to the ongoing nationwide hunger protests.

A tomato trader at Ile-epo market, Agege area, Mr Rabiu Aliu, said the price of some perishable  food items ranging from tomatoes, chilli pepper and others dropped to minimise loss due to low patronage caused by the protest.

“A 50kg basket of tomatoes now sells for between N40,000 and N50,000 as against N80,000 to N100,000 two weeks ago.

“A 25kg basket sells between N18,000 and N19,000 as against N30,000 to N40,000 two weeks ago.

“We have no choice but to sell off because few customers are available to buy the produce. The purchasing power is actually low at the moment,” Aliu said.

Also speaking, another trader, Mrs Mukit Afolabi, said that the price of perishable items had dropped in the market as a result of the hunger protest.

“On Day 1 of the protest, tomatoes were even cheaper because there was no one to buy.

“I bought 5kg basket of tomatoes at N4,000. As of two weeks ago, it sold for N12,000. So, I think the protest is contributory to the drop in price.

“However, rodo (scotch bonnet pepper) is still expensive. On Monday, a bag was sold for N40,000 but today, a bag sells at N84,000 because it is currently unavailable in the market.

“No produce truck has delivered any pepper since Wednesday, the day before the protest began,” Afolabi said.

A foodstuff trader, Mr Ibrahim Ahmed, also affirmed a drop in the price of rice and beans.

“A 50kg bag of short grain rice now sells for N73,000 as against N83,000 last month. While the long grain sells for N78,000 per 50 kg bag as against N87,000 to N88,000.

“A paint bucket of honey beans now sells for N10,000 as against N12,000 it was sold in July.
Other varieties now sell for between N8,000 and N9,000,” he said.

NAN reports that other items such as groundnut oil and palm oil recorded tremendous increase in price.

Mrs Hope Osagie, a trader of the produce at the Agege Market, said that the price of the produce had increased in the last couple of days.

“A 25 litre of groundnut oil now sells at N60,000 as against N38,000 that was sold a month ago.

“While a 25 litre of palm oil now sells for N36,000 as against N27,000 in July.

“We really do not know the reason for the hike but generally food stuff prices have been rather unpredictable,” Osagie said.

Read Also: Ajala subsidises foodstuff by 50 per cent

However, a buyer, Mrs Anuoluwa Olayinka, expressed excitement over the drop in the price of tomatoes and other perishable items.

“I bought as much as I could afford as I saw the price had dropped.

“Well, there are just few people in the market, which is quite unusual for a Friday. So, I guess traders just want to sell off to minimise loss,” Olayinka said.

Another buyer, Mrs Ada Uzor, said that “foodstuff prices are unpredictable but I think the protest contributed to the slight price drop of  some items.”

(NAN)

The Chairman of Odi-Olowo/Ojuwoye Local Council Development, Razaq Olusola Ajala, has subsidised food items for the residents by 50 per cent.

The commodities include garri, rice, pepper, onion, bread, and eggs.

He said the gesture was designed for the people at the lowest level of the economic ladder in the council.

Ajala said his administration was aware of the outcry on the astronomical increase in the prices of foodstuffs.

“As a government that loves our people, we believe that we should come up with this initiative with the primary objective of ensuring that we bring food to the table of people regardless of their economic status.

“What we are doing here is to sell foodstuffs at subsidised rate – five De Rica goes for N3,500 as against N7,000 in the local market, bread that is being sold for N1,200 and above outside in the market goes for N500 here. The group of various pepper there goes for N2,000. A paint of garri goes for N2,000,” he said.

Read Also: 25th Democracy Day: Tinubu leads Nigerians to celebrate colourful occasion

While addressing the crowd that thronged the Ilupeju council secretariat to be patient, Ajala assured them that the foodstuff procured by the council would go round.

“Just be orderly, collect your ticket, pay for your goods and leave to create space for others. There is no cause for alarm, we have made provision for a high number of people. The number of people here cannot exhaust what we have provided for,” he said.

He told The Nation that the council will be selling the annual subsidised rams.

“This is the 7th edition of our sallah subsidised ram sales. While Muslims are benefitting from this, a similar gesture was carried out in December for their Christian counterparts,” he said.

He assured residents of more dividends of democracy.The beneficiaries hailed the council boss for the initiative.They urged him to make it a monthly exercise.

• Over 4,000 benefit as Customs sell seized rice in Lagos

The Presidency, Friday evening, revealed that the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) will soon start distributing 42,000 metric tonnes of assorted food commodities, released from the national strategic reserve.

In Lagos, Friday, no fewer than 4,000 benefitted from the sale of rice seized by the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS).

In a statement issued by Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the food items that will be distributed free of charge to the vulnerable population across the country, had been delayed by the bagging process. 

The statement also said the distribution of 60,000 metric tonnes of milled rice, which would be paid for by the federal government would soon follow, noting that already, the foodstuffs ready for distribution forced grain prices down in the market.

“The  Tinubu administration, through the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, is in the final stages of releasing 42,000 metric tonnes of assorted food commodities to support the vulnerable population across the country. 

“The grains in seven locations of strategic reserve are now being bagged for onward delivery to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA). The need to bag the grains caused the delay as the bags were freshly ordered by the government. 

“Nigerians will not need to pay for the grain bags, as they are free.

“This will be complemented by the 60,000 metric tonnes of milled rice to be purchased by the Federal Government from the Mega Rice Millers,” the statement said. 

Already, with the announcement of the impending releases of food commodities from the Strategic Reserve, there is a noticeable reduction in commodity prices across major grains markets in the country, Minister of Agriculture, Senator  Abubakar Kyari said.

Kyari also said the Federal Government is also ramping up food production by boosting Dry Season Farming under the National Agricultural Growth Scheme Agro-Pocket (NAGS-AP) Project.

The First Phase of the Dry Season Farming was launched in November 2023.

It focuses on the cultivation of wheat across 15 wheat-producing states, covering 118,657 hectares and involving 107,429 farmers. 

“The fields are green now and harvest will commence in a matter of weeks,” Kyari said.

“There are fantastic reports of the growth of wheat from Jigawa State, which is now targeting harvest from about 50,000 hectares, 10,000 hectares more than initially allotted under the programme.

Phase 2 of the Dry Season Farming, according to him, will commence soon, across all 36 states of Nigeria and FCT, saying it will cover rice, maize, and cassava.

“For rice, the target is 250,000 hectares involving 500,000 farmers with the expected output of 1 million metric tons of paddy rice. 

“For maize, we are cultivating 55,000 hectares with 110,000 farmers thereby adding 165,000 metric tons to national maize production while for cassava, we are doing 35,000 hectares with 70,000 farmers to produce 525,000 metric tons of cassava.

“The NAGS-AP Project offers a 50% subsidy.

However, the Federal Government is providing additional support for Phase 2, which will bring aggregate subsidy to about 93 %  to farmers cultivating the crops. 

“Also various governors are showing strong support, to further enhance the subsidy. 

“Additionally, solar-powered water pumps for irrigation, provided by the Federal Government, are being deployed to aid the upcoming phase of the programme,” the Minister said.

Over 4,000 benefit as Customs sell seized rice in Lagos

The Comptroller-General of the NCS, Mr. Adewale Adeniyi, had on Thursday in Lagos directed that the seized rice be sold to members of the public at a subsidised rate of N10,000 per 25kg bag.

No fewer than 4,000 persons benefitted from the exercise on Friday.

As a precondition to benefiting from the programme, Adeniyi directed the beneficiaries to produce their National Identification Numbers.

Addressing pressure groups, religious leaders and other beneficiaries of the gesture, Adeniyi pleaded with them not to divert the rice to markets.

He assured that more Nigerians would benefit from the gesture as the rice would be sold at subsidised rate at all Customs commands in the country.

He said the Federal Government instructed that the less-privileged be given priority in the sale of the rice.

Some of the beneficiaries who spoke with the NAN commended the Federal Government and the NCS for the kind gesture.

Operatives of the police, the Department of State Services, the Nigerian Army, and those of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority provided security at the sales venue.

Beneficiaries included artisans, teachers, religious bodies, physically challenged persons, and street sweepers.

A physically challenged beneficiary, Mr. Taiwo Lawal, broke down in tears while appreciating the Federal Government for the gesture.

Read Also: Economic hardship: Bobrisky shows off massive foodstuffs

“This has never happened in the history of Nigeria where the majority of Nigerians will benefit from relief items genuinely and without discrimination.

“If government engages in more of this gesture, prices of goods will reduce and common people will be able to afford them,” Lawal said.

Another vulnerable person, Mrs Amdalat Balogun, who lost her sight at birth, said she got the news on the radio and quickly borrowed N10,000 from her neighbour to enable her to benefit from the gesture.

Balogun said she bought the rice preparatory to the forthcoming month of fasting by Muslims and expressed appreciation of the NCS and the Federal Government.

She pleaded with the government to sell more subsidised food items to sustain the lives and livelihood of ordinary Nigerians.

In his remarks, Chief Imam of Magodo Phase 2, Central Mosque, Lagos, Imam Abdul-Semiu Kelani, thanked the government and prayed for the success of the present administration.

He noted that the government’s gesture would go a long way to ease the hardship of Nigerians.

A cleric, Mr Emmanuel Omoroke of St. Louis Catholic Church, bought rice on behalf of indigent members of the church and also commended the government for the gesture.

A street sweeper engaged by the Lagos State Waste Management Authority, Mrs Morufat Bello, also appreciated the government’s gesture after she bought the rice.

A nonagenarian, Mrs Adeke Lateef, whose grandchild took to the sales point prayed for successes for the government and urged it to do more.