Onion prices are likely to remain high until March as farmers face substantial losses from flooding that has ravaged crops on numerous farms in the North, with estimated damages in the region of N300 billion.
Currently, the price of onions is soaring with a bag selling between N250,000 and N270,000 as against N70,000 and N90,000 per bag in 2023. While a medium-sized bulb of the produce sells at N500 as against N50 per bulb.
The flooding affected onion farmers in Adamawa, Sokoto, Bauchi, Kebbi ,Kano, Kogi, Jigawa, Yobe and Zamfara.
National President of the National Onion Producers Processors and Marketers Association of Nigeria (NOPPMAN), Aliyu Maitasamu Isah, told The Nation that numerous onion plants, which were at various growth stages including nursery, vegetative, and even nearing harvest, were destroyed.
Isah noted that farmers incurred losses amounting to billions due to counterfeit onion seeds, which have further exacerbated the scarcity of onions.
He said: “Our farmers have suffered losses not only from the destruction of their farms but also from the produce that was swept away. The floodwaters devastated the plants on their fields, an event that occurred in the last quarter of the previous year. The severe effects of climate change resulted in prolonged rainfall beyond the typical season, significantly impacting both the seeds planted and those nurtured in nurseries. The flooding also affected crops that were close to harvest, leading to a devastating impact that has driven prices up. Onions are particularly sensitive to excessive water, which can lead to the spread of a fungal disease known as Purple Blotch infection, posing a catastrophic threat to onion cultivation.”
The purple mark identified in onions is the consequence of a fungal infection that targets the leaves, stems, and seeds. This issue is particularly severe for onions, causing the appearance of deep white lesions that are surrounded by a yellow halo and feature a purple or red centre, as indicated by scientific research.
He linked the surge in prices to the lack of availability of imported onion seeds. He explained that farmers generally import their seeds from Technisem seeds in France, Holland, and Thailand. The flooding that impacted Africa,he continued, also had repercussions for these countries, leading to a significant decrease in seed production for both the African and global markets. As a result, he maintained that the limited quantity they were able to supply was insufficient.
He disclosed: “ I learnt that East West imported seeds but they came in when the growing season had elapsed. It will work for another season. You know agriculture is timely.”
He pointed out that farmers are now encountering difficulties in purchasing seeds.
He noted: “ For example, 500 grammes of onion seeds, which were sold for N20,000 between 2022 and 2023, increased to N50,000 last year. By the end of the year, he added that farmers were purchasing seeds for as much as N180,000, with each farmer needing around five packages to cultivate a hectare.
His words: “ The prices of onion seeds rose in October ,November and December last year. 500 grammes that we bought for N50,000 has risen to N180,000. Since that time we have declared a state of emergency in the sector. We drew the attention of the government urging them to come to our aid. Not much was done then when we made the call. As a result the farmers resorted to self-help by reaching out to contacts in Algeria to import the seed. Farmers were using the imported seeds for three months. The seeds were growing but would not give pulp. Before we took measures it had affected production massively. We lost over 200,000 metric tonnes in the process. Up till now the farmers are still counting their losses. The output was supposed to be for 2025.”According to Isah, farmers lost billions to fake onion seeds, which has also contributed to the scarcity.He noted: “I think the price will start coming down, small because we are approaching the harvest season. In as much as we do not produce enough, harvest season is always a bountiful season. We will have onions from now to March -April so the onion price will crash then. However, the price will start going up from May, June upward. It is the production of the wet season that will help to crash the price maybe continuously or increase the price. So it depends on the action that is taking in the wet season of this year.”
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He emphasised that the remedy lies in the production and local distribution of new onion seeds by the National Horticulture Institute, scheduled for June this year.
He expressed that the government is actively working to resolve the current situation. He remarked, “We held a discussion with the Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Dr. Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, regarding the shortage of onions. He urged us to concentrate on local production instead of depending on imports. During this meeting, he directed the Executive Director of the Nigeria Horticultural Research Institute to create enhanced onion seed varieties for Nigerian farmers. The Executive Director committed to releasing a new variety in June of this year and has initiated training for seed producers in Zamfara to facilitate seed multiplication. This is part of the ministry’s strategy. Furthermore, the National Assembly, under the guidance of Chairman of the House Committee on Agricultural Services, Honourable Bello Kaoje, has consulted with us to investigate the reasons behind the increase in onion prices. We clarified that this surge is attributed to flooding, the impact of climate change, and a shortage of quality seeds. Additionally, the introduction of poor-quality seeds has led to substantial losses for numerous farms.
In response, the Chairman of the House Committee on Agricultural Services, reached out to both the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security and the National Agricultural Development Fund to assist us. Consequently, the National Agricultural Development Fund is working to determine how we can move forward in addressing this emergency. We are currently awaiting the fund’s official meeting with us.”