Government agric efforts crash prices of food items in Lagos

VARIOUS government efforts at revamping agriculture may have started yielding results as prices of tomatoes and pepper have reduced in major markets in Lagos, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

A survey by NAN on Monday at Mile 12, Oyingbo and Iddo markets showed that a 40kg basket of tomatoes goes for N5,000, from its previous price of N10, 000 in November and N29, 000 in July.

A 50 kg basket of ‘tatashe’ (pepper) decreased from N14, 000 to N8, 000, while a basket of chilli pepper (rodo) also dropped from N13, 000 to N8, 000.

Mr Femi Odusanya, the spokesperson of Mile 12 Market Perishable Foods Traders Association, said that government’s efforts in agriculture might have started yielding positive results on the prices of food.

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“About two to three years ago, fertiliser, a major farming input, was sold at about N10, 000 to N12, 000, but now fertiliser goes for about N6500 in the market.

“Some state governments in the North are giving tractors to farmers free of charge to plough their land and also access to improved seedlings.

“Definitely, all these have impacted, one way or the other, in reducing the cost of production for most farmers and the result is now evident for all to benefit from,” he said.

Odusanya said that prices of the commodities might even reduce further before Christmas, due to the increasing supply from about 80 trucks to 120 trucks daily to the market.

He urged the government to sustain efforts and also invest more in mechanised farming to boost food production and sufficiency in the country.

However, the price of a jute bag of onions increased from N28, 000 to N35,000 while one kilogramme of frozen chicken and turkey goes for N1,000 and N1,100, respectively.

Live chicken is sold for between N3,500 and N6, 000, depending on their sizes.

Also, a 50kg bag of rice ranges between N16, 500 and N22, 000, depending on the brand, a 25 litres of palm oil goes for N11, 500, while a measurement of “garri’’ cost N380.

Some of the traders also attributed the drop in the prices of food to the massive supply of food items occasioned by harvest season.