Farmers in Gombe State are sounding the alarm over a steep drop in grain prices as the 2025 harvest season gets underway — a trend many say is threatening their livelihoods and casting a shadow over the future of farming in the region.
At major grain markets like Gombe Central and Tudun Hatsi, prices of staple crops have plunged by more than 40% compared to the same period last year, a development traders and farmers alike attribute to a combination of bumper harvest projections, low consumer demand, and rising food imports.
A market survey on Friday by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) revealed that a 100kg bag of maize now sells for around ₦20,000, down from ₦60,000 last year. Similarly, a bag of beans dropped from ₦145,000 to ₦80,000, and locally processed rice, once ₦130,000, now sells at ₦100,000.
Other grains are also not spared:
Paddy rice: ₦25,000 (down from ₦170,000)
Groundnut: ₦95,000 (was ₦120,000)
Wheat: ₦70,000 (was ₦56,000)
Millet: ₦22,000
Soybean: ₦60,000 (down from ₦110,000)
Ali Musa, Secretary of the Tudun Hatsi Grain Market, said the oversupply is creating a glut the market cannot absorb. “Prices are falling further as more farmers bring in their harvests. Yet, people complain of lack of money to buy grains,” he lamented.
He also explained that grain merchants who stocked up in the previous season are now counting their losses. “Many of them are sitting on unsold grains. Prices have dropped so much that they are selling at giveaway rates just to cut losses,” he added.
While consumers might welcome the drop in prices, for farmers, it’s a different story entirely. Rising costs of fertilisers, labour, and transportation have eaten deep into their margins, leaving many unable to break even.
“Farmers growing fertiliser-intensive crops like maize, rice, and wheat can’t make ends meet anymore,” said Malam Zakari, a farmer from Hinna in Yemaltu/Deba LGA. He stressed the need for government intervention to stabilise the sector.
Zakari called on authorities at all levels to improve access to affordable inputs, fertilisers, financing, and crop insurance to support farmers and ensure the country’s food security ambitions don’t falter.
While the situation in Gombe appears dire, it mirrors a broader pattern across the country, especially in northern agricultural belts and grain-producing states. Unless urgent measures are taken, what should be a season of bounty might become a cycle of losses for thousands of Nigerian farmers.
NAN
