Farmers in northern Nigeria have raised alarms over rising production costs, warning of worsening food insecurity as the 2025 farming season begins. Williams Joseph Zamdai, a commercial farmer, revealed he spent over N2.5 million on his farm last season but recovered less than N1 million from sales. He cited high costs of fertilisers, fuel, and transportation, along with persistent insecurity and farmer-herder conflicts, as major obstacles. "Farming is the only business we know, but it has become increasingly frustrating," Zamdai said, adding that he may scale down to subsistence farming. He also accused politicians of stockpiling grains for campaign use, distorting market availability.
Jonathan Babangida, another farmer, described the 2025 season as deeply challenging despite cultivating rice, maize, beans, and soybeans. He reported that NPK fertiliser now costs between N50,000 and N60,000 per bag, while urea sells for N35,000 to N40,000. Herbicides and pesticides have risen from N1,500–N2,000 to as much as N7,000. Tractor hiring fees have jumped from N80,000 to N120,000. A 100kg bag of maize sells for about N25,000, but minimal returns and mounting loan repayments leave little profit. Both farmers warned that without intervention, food production could decline sharply, pushing prices higher and increasing hunger across the country.
Williams Joseph Zamdai's revelation that he lost over half of his investment despite a full farming cycle exposes the collapsing economics of agriculture in Nigeria. When a commercial farmer can no longer justify large-scale production, the food supply chain is under direct threat. This isn't just a rural crisis—it means more Nigerians will pay higher prices for less food in markets nationwide.
