Farmers consider options as maize price crashes

Following the recent crash in price of maize across the country, farmers have adopted a new trend to remain afloat. The seasonal drop in maize prices, which is one of Nigeria’s most consumed staples, has opened an unexpected window of opportunity for farmers to reduce the trauma of spending a fortune to produce and sell […]

Following the recent crash in price of maize across the country, farmers have adopted a new trend to remain afloat.

The seasonal drop in maize prices, which is one of Nigeria’s most consumed staples, has opened an unexpected window of opportunity for farmers to reduce the trauma of spending a fortune to produce and sell at a loss.

With the new trend, farmers sell their maize while it is fresh to women and men, who either roast it or boil it to sell to a growing number of consumers. 

However, the business of roasting or boiling maize, once regarded as a woman’s trade, in recent times, is now being taken over by young men, and in some cases, the elderly can be seen to also partake in the trade.

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The growing number of people venturing into the business has encouraged maize farmers to easily sell their produce, just to avert the pains of selling maize grains at a cheaper rate despite spending huge amounts to produce.

Mallam Aminu Aliyu Bello, a maize farmer in Kano State, who has been growing the crop for over two decades, said the growing number of people venturing into roadside maize roasting had created a business window for farmers to leverage on and reduce their losses. He added that from what the farmers gathered, this year’s harvest is going to be terrible for farmers due to the recent crash in its price.

“We have heard scary news on how the price of maize is crashing despite what we have gone through in accessing agricultural inputs at a very exorbitant price. We were wondering how we would be able to sell our produce without incurring losses. Fortunately, we discovered that there is a huge market for fresh maize due to the growing demand for roasted or boiled maize. We leverage the new market to reduce our forecasted losses; and believe me, it is moving quite impressively for us,” he said.

Another farmer, Hamza Haruna Bagwai, said that though the price of food commodities was crashing, it is obvious that the public’s purchasing power is low, adding that people are now taking advantage of the fresh maize as meals instead of cooked food.

He explained that farmers who have fresh maize are now smiling because it is far better to sell fresh maize than to bag it.

“At a moment when a 100kg is selling below N50,000 when farmers have been buying fertiliser at N70,000, you can imagine how fortunate farmers are in having the opportunity to sell their fresh maize to consumers. The trouble of threshing, buying bags to baggage and transportation is all off the farmer’s shoulders. That is why, with the growing demand for fresh maize, farmers have discovered a new avenue to minimise their losses this year,” he said.

However, for many maize roasting operators, the business is gradually becoming a strong means for their livelihood. Although it may be seasonal, the business is currently gaining patronage and many people have started to embrace it.

With the growing demand, the initially female-dominated trade has now been taken over by young men. It is a common sight in Kano to see a young man behind the stalls roasting maize or boiling it; and in most cases, combining the two.

At Karfi, one of Kano’s major maize depots, both men and women retailers were seen busy conducting the business of the day. 

One of the fresh maize retailers, Mrs Sarah, revealed that although the price of maize is low this year, the increase in participants has made the business a little bit difficult.

“We used to buy a bag of fresh maize at N60,000 to N50,000, but now, it is cheaper, selling at N30,000 to N35,000. However, due to the increasing number of people in the maize roasting business, the situation is not as we want it to be,” she said.

Some of the maize roasting business operators said people are now consuming the roasted maize in large quantities because it is cheaper than cooked meals, adding that despite the fact that people patronise them, what they usually make is not encouraging enough, but it is promising.

However, for young Gregory Yerima, who claimed he had adopted the business to raise money for his school, the business is indeed a good choice, adding that within 30 days, he had made more than enough to settle his school fees when schools resume.

According to an agricultural economist in Kano, Malam Basheer Dauda, the trending pattern adopted by farmers came out of necessity due to the current rising cost of agricultural inputs, adding that the development will surely reduce the losses the farmers may incur as a result of the high cost of the inputs.

He also revealed that the rise in the consumption of roasted or boiled maize is due to the low purchasing power of many people, created by the economic instability in the country.

“What is happening is a clear example of the adage: ‘When the desirable is not available, the available becomes the desirable.’ It is good for the farmers and the maize roasting business,” he said.