Rainy season: Battles before farmers
As early rains, which started in March, continues to fall in most parts of the country, farming operations for the 2026 wet season have commenced in many areas. Farmers have experienced many production challenges in recent years as a result of government policies and other issues that have hurt the sector. Farming has become unprofitable […]
As early rains, which started in March, continues to fall in most parts of the country, farming operations for the 2026 wet season have commenced in many areas.
Farmers have experienced many production challenges in recent years as a result of government policies and other issues that have hurt the sector.
Farming has become unprofitable for farmers since the withdrawal of fuel subsidies, which led to a more than 100% increase in input prices and production costs.
As this year’s wet season begins, farmers throughout the country have been speaking to Weekend Trust about the major battles that await them.
Worsening insecurity
In recent months, escalating bandit raids have ravaged most communities, which are the foundation of agricultural production.
At a time when many agrarian communities are preparing to return to the farms, our correspondents in many states have been reporting fresh bandit attacks.
Alhaji Hassan Hussaini, a farmer in Katsina State, expressed concern over the resurgence of attacks in some places, adding that the situation was making farmers anxious ahead of the rainy season activities in the state.
“Just when things seemed to be improving, renewed bandit attacks have forced many farmers to reconsider going back to their farms. We are waiting to see how the authorities would respond to the situation. The rainy season is near, and only convincing and lasting peace will encourage many to return to farming,” he said.
Niger, a key state for food production, is recording worsening attacks.
Alhaji Bala Mahmud Egge, Secretary of the All Farmers Association (AFAN), Wushishi LGA, told Weekend Trust, that insecurity has severely hampered irrigation and rain-fed farming in many LGAs.
“Insecurity has seriously affected farming activities in the state. Most of the farmers in the areas are suffering attacks. As a farmer, one or two months after you have planted your crops, bandits would come, map your farm lands and ask you to quit. So, there is nothing you can do because you can no longer go near that farm.
“By the time you eventually get access to that farm, it has already been destroyed. I can tell you that out of 10 per cent of farmers who are into irrigation farming, only one per cent has been able to do it this year,” he explained.
Residents of Borgu Local Government Area of Niger State told our correspondent that thousands of people, mostly farmers, had been displaced, and scores had been killed due to insecurity in seven out of ten wards. Babanna, Kabe/Pissa, Konkoso, Shagunu, Dugga, Wawa, and Malale are among the impacted wards.
Inputs cost, a huge battle
Garba Ahmed Bichi, Secretary of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) branch in Kano State, told the Weekend Trust that farmers were finding it increasingly difficult to invest in farming activities due to the present cost of fertiliser, which is about 55,000 per bag.
Bichi recalled that in 2009, he personally distributed 1000 bags of fertiliser at about 1000 to AFAN members in 44 local government areas, a feat, he added, not easily implementable now.
He said the association created ‘Kantin Manoma’ (farmers’ shop) to sell inputs at a subsidised rate, but the gesture was largely abused.
“Big companies like Jubali and others make available inputs and agrochemicals to our members on credit, but the challenge is that some do not pay back.
“Farming requires a lot of investment, without which much cannot be achieved,” he added.
AFAN, he said, had written several letters seeking to sit with the state commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, but to no avail.
Aminu Inuwa, a farmer, stated that he is not sure if he will cultivate his land this year after losing about a million naira last year and harvesting only three bags of paddy rice.
Inuwa said he may “decide to try again if fertiliser and other inputs are provided at affordable prices. But when prices of food remain low and agricultural input costs are high, farming is no longer profitable.”
Ibrahim Rufai, another farmer, stated that fertiliser prices are still high despite rumours that the federal government will permit private businesses to import it at a reduced cost.
On agrochemicals, he stated that the prices are high because the government rarely subsidises them, except for a select few farmers “engaging in special government programmes”.
“Even recently, I had to sell my maize plantation to Fulani herdsmen to bring their livestock to the farm because I could not raise the resources to continue its maturity,” Ibrahim said
Dr Stella Thomas of Tecni Seeds said farmers were not interested in buying seeds because of the importation of grains into the country.
Dr. Thomas said her company spent fortunes to produce wheat seeds, but farmers were dissuaded from buying on account of grain importation.
“The government must be deliberate about seeds by subsidising them for farmers. It must also stop the importation of food items to motivate farmers to return to cultivation.
“Last year, many of them recorded losses because of the importation. It must be reversed this time around,” she said.
However, the Manager of RUSBI fertiliser, Muhammad Rufai, said his company aims to provide one million tonnes of NPK and Urea for farmers in Kano for the rainy season.
The company, he said, produces about 400 tonnes of fertiliser per day and intends to train farmers in the right application of fertiliser to get the desired yields.
He said to address the rising cost of fertiliser, farmers would be asked to pay for the supplied fertiliser after harvest, noting that the price is not fixed because the cost of the ingredients is not easily determined.
Unpredictable prices
Many farmers told the Weekend Trust that last year’s experience was disastrous, with many failing to recoup even half of their capital after spending a fortune on their farms.
They linked this to the high cost of agricultural inputs, costly transportation, and a drop in commodity prices caused by the government’s import waivers.
Malam Kabir Umar, a Katsina-based farmer, said he purchased two farms from other farmers during last year’s rainy season but lost that investment, adding that some other farmers were compelled to sell parts of their unharvested fields to maintain others for the season.
“As a farmer, I understand what many of us have been going through. It got to a point where some farmers preferred to buy food commodities rather than cultivate them because it became cheaper and easier to do so. I know what I went through last year, and I saw how others struggled.
“Some of my neighbours had to sell their produce while still on the farm and even parts of their farms in the middle of the season just to survive,” he said.
Umar added that while he hasn’t given up, he has taken steps to resume farming this season. He listed key obstacles to agricultural activity in Katsina and around the nation, including the high cost of labour, transportation, fertilisers, pesticides, and herbicides, as well as importation and insecurity.
Many farmers in the state say they are now adopting alternative strategies to recover from last year’s losses.
A farmer, Dan Asibi Funtua, noted that after purchasing fertiliser at high prices last year, farmers around the Kankia axis suffered flooding, while commodity prices later dropped, leaving many without capital to continue farming this season.
He said many who will be going back have made it clear that they would be using manure instead of fertiliser because it is relatively cheaper.
“We bought a bag of urea at N55, 000 and a bag of NPK at N65, 000. As this rainy season approaches, we have started gathering animal dung to use as manure because fertiliser is likely to remain out of the reach of small-scale farmers like me,” he said.
He added that it was troubling that a farmer sells two to three bags of grains just to afford one bag of fertiliser.
FG’s policies killing farming
The Taraba State Chairman of the Rice Farmers Association, Tanko Andami, stated that farmers are having a hard time due to the federal government’s policy of allowing the importation of maize and rice.
He explained that, despite the challenges that farmers face, there is no solid strategy in place to help them to massively produce food and cash crops.
“It is obvious that the federal government is indirectly killing farming, and it is the population of the North that is suffering because people in the region are mostly farmers. Farming is no longer profitable,” he said.
Madam Lucy James said last year the transport fare from Jalingo to Kwando in Ardo-Kola Local Government of Taraba State, where she and her husband carry out their farming activities yearly, was N1000 per person on a motorbike, but the fare has now been hiked by N500.
She said a litre of chemical sold last year at N4000 is now N5000, while the price of both Urea and NPK has increased by twenty per cent.
Mrs Lucy said many people will be discouraged from agricultural activities because the price of farm produce is still low despite a rise in the cost of farm inputs.
Abubakar Yahaya, a large-scale farmer, told Weekend Trust that while the cost of agricultural inputs is still high, the drop in the price of farm produce has made farming unprofitable.
He stated that he had two tractors that he utilised in his farms, but it is tough to use them currently due to the cost of diesel and spare parts.
The farmer said that despite the fact that the rainy season has commenced, the government is yet to provide farmers with inputs.
Regional wars’ impact
The current Middle East conflict presents a new frontier of challenge at a time when markets and fertiliser supply chains are still susceptible to geopolitical shocks.
Although the global food system has largely adapted to the trade disruptions in agricultural commodities and fertilisers, following the COVID-19 pandemic and the start of the Russia-Ukraine war, the ongoing conflict in the Middle East could exacerbate the situation, experts warned.
They said the possibility of a long-term, significant disruption in fertiliser supplies, which could jeopardise global agricultural output and food security, is an especially hazardous issue.
Significant price rises have already resulted from the interruptions to the region’s exports of fertiliser and LNG. As long as production and transport from the Gulf are disrupted, prices will probably keep rising.
A farmer, Ibrahim Rufai, stated that the US-Israeli war with Iran has exacerbated the issue, as Russia and China are not supplying urea.
The Benue State Chairman of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Ernest Atoji, said this year would even be worse since farmers aren’t selling.
The issues in Benue
In Benue State, farmers said they had no access to any form of interventions from the federal government, even as the planting season is set to commence.
Adole Edoga, a farmer resident in Oglewu district of Ohimini Local Government Area of the state, said he had never accessed any federal government’s intervention in all his over 30 years of farming.
“I don’t even expect any intervention from the government because I have never had any in the past. I’m a peasant farmer who struggles to buy agrochemicals and other inputs for my farm.
“Things are very difficult now and farming is no longer attractive because we don’t get value for our produce,” Edoga said.
His views, like many other farmers across the state, were buttressed by Vitalis Tarnongu, who is the Chairman of the Federation of Agricultural Commodities Associations of Nigeria (FACAN) in Benue State.
Tarnongu said it’s been quite challenging for farmers within the state to access fertilisers, agrochemicals and seeds due to the high cost of production of the inputs.
“As I speak with you, there is no known intervention programme by the federal government. We are hopeful and expectant, but none currently exist.
“The cost of these inputs varies depending on type and brand, but is expensive for the average farmer. The high cost of inputs, if not subsidised, will lead to reduced acreage as small farmers who can’t afford it will have to cut down on the size of land they would usually cultivate, which in turn would lead to lower yields (output), “Tarnongu said.
State Chairman of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Ernest Atoji, however, said the body would do all it can to make fertilisers accessible for farmers this year.
“We are currently collating farmers’ biodata to the National Agricultural Development Funds (NADF), a federal government agency, which is promising to make fertiliser available to farmers for the 2026 cropping season,” he said.
Atoji, however, expressed worries over the farmers’ inability to access fertilisers, noting that the opportunities to do so are very poor and usually not even available and affordable for farmers.
He said the cases of agrochemicals are far beyond the reach of average farmers because they are not affordable, even as so many fake agrochemicals are on the market.
“So many adulterated agrochemicals with a high risk linked to cancer or cancerous cell mutations. As for seeds, there is no standardisation; good seeds are not accessible or affordable in Benue State. Sometimes, some vendors package grains as seeds. Certification is not monitored by relevant regulatory bodies.
“There’s a Bank of Agriculture (BoA) account opening going on by farmers, but we need a better approach because we don’t have BOA across all the 23 LGAs in the state. Account opening is slow; we need more time. The farmer monies launched at N300,000 per farmer, if it goes round, definitely many smallholder farmers will benefit.
“If this Strategy Agricultural Programme reaches out to all farmers, there will be a robust agricultural output for the 2026 farming season,” the AFAN chairman posited.
Uncertainty over 2000 tractors
Since early 2025, the federal government launched the Renewed Hope National Agricultural Mechanisation Programme, aimed at improving food security and modernising farming by purchasing2,000 tractors and over 9,000 agricultural tools.
The mechanisation project was a product of cooperation between Nigeria and Belarus and seeks to cultivate 1.5 million hectares, create over 16,000 jobs, and benefit 550,000 farming households.
Farmers have not yet received the equipment since last year.
Despite the official launch of distribution by the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari. Our correspondents across the state reported that the tractors have not yet been spotted in the state.
The distribution procedure has been put on hold due to some interests, sources told the Weekend Trust.
The tractors were initially set to be distributed to farmers on a lease-to-own basis by Mechanisation Service Providers, who also provide mandated operator training and GPS-enabled tracking for accountability.
With the tractors failing to reach farmers’ hands since last year, many are questioning the government’s intentions.
What experts advise
Teryima Iorlamen, a Seed Systems Principal Investigator at Joseph Sarwuan Tarka University (JOSTUM), formerly the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi (FUAM), blamed the federal government for the plight of farmers.
Iorlamen said, “The federal government imported food items, and the value of farmers’ work was not returned, so they don’t want to go into farming again. For those who are into business, they operated at a loss, so the majority of the farmers don’t want to go into farming again. They are looking for other things to do, especially crop farming, and some are saying they will go into animal farming.
“This is on top of climate change. However, we are still encouraging farmers to go into production even if it’s to feed their families with it. Besides, the price of food items will still go up this year due to the increase in fuel prices.
“The federal government should also look into subsidising some of these inputs so that Nigerians can produce what they will eat, which will be of a higher quality than what they are importing.
So we don’t know what will happen in the coming year because during electioneering, most young people don’t go to the farm, as they follow politicians. We encourage them to go to the farm. They should get climate-smart varieties that can adapt to good outputs.”
A consultant with the Africa Green Initiative, Dr Ibraheem Abdullahi, advised that timely government support and inclusive agricultural policies could help address the challenges. According to him, with proper guidance and intervention, farmers can mitigate crop losses and boost food production despite the difficult conditions.
Dr Abdullahi also urged the government to reconsider its importation policies, warning that no nation can thrive while relying heavily on imported food. He emphasised the need for Nigeria to encourage local production rather than discourage it.
He also stressed that in the light of climate change, currently threatening production, farmers should be guided on adopting resilient crop varieties, adjusting planting periods, and embracing irrigation practices.
A Researcher at the Institute of Agricultural Research, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Professor Rabiu Adamu, said farmers should embrace organic food production, which does not require the use of much input like fertilisers, pesticides and sprays of other chemicals for pest control.
He explained that farmers spend a lot of money buying fertiliser, pesticides and fungicides during cultivation to preserve crops, which might not have been the case if they used organic crops.
We’re supporting farmers – FG
Senator Abubakar Kyari, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, stated during the quarterly stakeholder engagement in Abuja a few weeks ago that his ministry has given farmers substantial support and will keep doing so for this wet season.
He stated that the federal government was implementing significant programmes to assist farmers, such as a loan facility worth 250 billion and the distribution of more than two million bags of fertiliser to increase food production for the 2026 season.
He stated that smallholder farmers can increase their output by applying for a 250 billion low-interest credit programme through the Bank of Agriculture (BOA).
Kyari urged registered cooperative members to apply for the interest-free, collateral-free loans up to 300,000 through the FarmerMoni Programme, which is a division of the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA).