As the harvest of farm produce gets underway prices of some of foodstuffs have started to climb down in Ogun State.
An investigation by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) at major markets in Abeokuta and Sango-Ota on Monday revealed that some food items were being sold at lower prices.
For instance, five tubers of yam, previously sold at N25,000, now sells for N18,000, while a big basket of sweet potatoes, that was selling for N20,000, now goes for N14,000.
Also, a basin of yam flour (Amala), formerly sold for N27,000, now sells for between for N22,000, while a bag of beans, that used to sell for N220,000 is now N190,000.
Similarly, big baskets of pepper and tomatoes, formerly sold at N90,000 and N110,000 respectively, now go for N75,000 and N90,000.
Meanwhile, some Nigerians, who spoke in separate interviews with NAN, have expressed divergent views on the reduction in the prices of the food items.
While some of them attributed the development to current the harvest period, others denied any noticeable reduction in prices, in view of high transportation costs.
Mr Timothy Eweoba, Chairman, Fruit and Vegetable Farmers, Ogun chapter, noted that the gradual reduction in prices of food items was as a result of the current harvesting season.
Eweoba said that the reduction in prices between dry season and the current season was about 20 per cent, expressing the hope that the prices might further come down by September.
“Within the South-West, we used to plant our vegetables during the raining season, like in April but the maturity period of tomatoes and pepper is three months.
“The major reason behind gradual reduction in price of tomatoes is that our crops are ready for harvesting now, and the produce is being brought to the market.
“By this time last year, we sold a 25kg basket of tomatoes for N15,000 and 40kg for N40,000.
“Now, the 40kg is sold for about N60,000, while the 25kg goes for between N25,000 and N30,000, depending on the type of tomatoes. We have local tomotoes and the improved ones which is very expensive,” he said.
On storage facilities, Eweoba appealed to the government to come to the aid of farmers, saying that accessing storage facilities had been very costly, with most farmers not having enough resources to meet up.
“We are appealing to government to assist us because during post-harvest period, the produce we are losing is more than what we bring to the market.
“During the rainy season, many of our tomatoes do get spoilt in the farm during harvesting. Before we put them into baskets and bring them to the market, many of them would have become rotten.
“So, if there are storage facilities, it will help us to sustain the crops and they will be available all-year round, while losses will also be reduced,” he said.
Mrs Shakirat Elegbede, a pepper vendor at Lafenwa market, Abeokuta, attributed the reduction in prices of tomatoes and pepper, especially local ones, to the harvest season.
“The reason the quantity of what we are selling now has increased compared with what obtained months ago is because our local pepper is now out,” she said.
A restaurant owner in Abeokuta, Mrs Dorcas Adebowale, admitted noted that the price of yam had reduced, but argued that that of plantains had remained the same.
She noted that six tubers of yam, which used to cost between N18,000 to N22,000, is now between N8,000 and N10,000, adding, however, that the price of plantain had not reduced much.
Adebowale said that if nothing was done about the cost of transporting food items and farm products to the market, their prices would continue to rise on yearly basis.
“For plantain, we have to wait till mid September before it can be cheaper than what obtains now because they’ve just started harvesting.
“A bunch of plantain at Lafenwa used to be N12,000 but now, you can get it for N9,000, but I’m sure in a couple of weeks, they’ll come down to N4,000 or N5,000.
“I believe government has to do something on transportation costs because after the harvest season now, the prices will increase again and I don’t think we have enough storage facilities in this country,” she said.
On efforts by government to boost storage of food crops for sustainability, Mrs Kehinde Jokotoye, the Permanent Secretary, Ogun Ministry of Agriculture, noted that the state government had continued to promote value-addition through various projects.
Jokotoye listed the projects to include: Ogun State Economic Transformation Project (OGSTEP), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and Nigeria-COVID 19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus Program Project (N-CARES).
According to her, the state government had collaborated with some private organisations to manage small-scale storage facilities for fruits and vegetables in some markets.
“The state government has established cold rooms, in collaboration with Federal Ministry of Finance at Iwopin, in Ogun Waterside Local Government Area and Wheke, in Ipokia Local Government Area of the state,” she said.
The permanent secretary stated that there were reductions in prices of some food items in the state due to the effect of the inputs’ intervention by government, thus leading to increase in production.
She added that increase in production had led to drop in prices of food items in the market.
“Due to the current harvesting period, there are now more produce from farmers in the market and invariably, this is bringing down their prices,” Jokotoye said.
