Food Prices Fall By 50% — FG

The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, has said prices of some essential food commodities have fallen by as much as 50 per cent nationwide as the Federal Government intensifies efforts to improve food production and strengthen Nigeria’s food security. 

Kyari made the disclosure on Monday in Maiduguri, Borno State, while declaring open a Community of Practice meeting for state commissioners responsible for agriculture, health, environment and rural development.

The meeting was organised by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security in collaboration with the Borno State Government, with support from Germany, under the theme, “Stronger Partnerships for a Food Secure Nigeria.”

Kyari said the administration of President Bola Tinubu had placed food security at the centre of its national agenda, with emphasis on increased domestic production, affordable food, stronger rural economies and a more resilient agricultural system.

He attributed the reported reduction in food prices to a combination of government interventions, including expanded access to agricultural inputs, investment in rural infrastructure and increased support for smallholder farmers.

The minister said the reported decline was particularly significant when compared with the sharp increases recorded in the years preceding the current reforms, challenging Nigerians to compare prevailing prices of staples such as rice and maize with their 2023 levels.

Kyari had previously made a similar claim in March 2026, when he said government interventions had contributed to a 50 per cent reduction in prices of essential food commodities across the country.

However, the minister acknowledged in a September interview that increased agricultural production had not translated fully into cheaper consumer prices because significant gaps remained in processing and distribution between farms and markets.

He explained that farm-gate prices had declined considerably, while agro-processing costs remained a major factor behind the prices consumers encounter in markets, making processing and distribution important areas for further government intervention.

The Federal Government has also reported the distribution of more than 1.9 million bags of fertiliser to nearly one million farmers over the past two years, alongside measures to improve fertiliser quality and strengthen regulation within the agricultural input supply chain.

According to the ministry, the government has also trained fertiliser inspectors, strengthened measures against fake fertiliser and upgraded the National Fertiliser Management Platform as part of efforts to improve transparency and quality control.

Kyari further disclosed that the government was pursuing mechanisation, irrigation, improved seeds and stronger support for agricultural research institutions to increase production throughout the year and reduce dependence on imports.

He said the Federal Government was also developing Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones to connect farmers with aggregation, storage, processing and markets, with the broader objective of reducing post-harvest losses and lowering dependence on imported processed food.

The minister also pointed to the 2025 Agricultural Performance Survey, which recorded higher output for several major crops, including rice, maize, sorghum, millet, cowpea, yam and cassava, compared with the previous year.

Kyari said the gains were supported by improved farming practices, expanded cultivated areas and greater resilience across major agricultural-producing states, although he acknowledged that significant challenges remained across the food value chain.

He said the government would continue to address high input costs while strengthening partnerships among federal and state authorities, development organisations, farmers, researchers and private-sector investors.

The minister also disclosed that early procurement under the Presidential Fertiliser Initiative had generated N61.58 billion in savings, while the country was working towards a 1.1 million metric-tonne fertiliser programme for 2026.

He further called for stronger participation by women and young Nigerians in agriculture, alongside increased private-sector investment and development financing to make the sector more productive and commercially viable.

The latest declaration comes against the backdrop of Nigeria’s prolonged cost-of-living pressures, with food affordability remaining a major concern despite improvements reported in agricultural production and farm-gate prices.

Kyari’s position therefore presents the reported 50 per cent reduction as evidence of progress under the Federal Government’s agricultural reforms, while the ministry’s own recent statements indicate that further gains in processing, distribution and market efficiency will be necessary before lower production costs translate fully into cheaper food for consumers.

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