Over 2,000 farmers in Kaduna State, who suffered losses estimated at N10.16 billion during the 2025 farming season, have appealed to the Federal government for assistance in the form of free or subsidised farm inputs.

The farmers, drawn from the three senatorial districts of the state, said they were pushed to the brink by a sudden nationwide crash in maize prices, despite unprecedented increases in the cost of agricultural inputs.

Their appeal was contained in a letter addressed to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the Minister of Agriculture, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, and the three senators representing Kaduna State.

The letter, written through their counsel, Ehizogie Imadojemu, explained that the farmers operated under a maize farming scheme coordinated by Alhaji Rufai Dikko, popularly known as Sarkin Labar, but were unable to recover production costs after harvest.

According to the farmers, the scheme, which began in 2017 with 1,000 hectares, expanded to about 10,000 hectares cultivated by 2,143 farmers across Igabi, Soba, Kauru, Zaria and Sabon Gari Local Government Areas.

Under the arrangement, Dikko provides capital, farm inputs and logistics, while participating farmers repay him in maize after harvest and sell the remainder to earn income.

However, the 2025 farming season proved disastrous as the farmers said a 50kg bag of NPK fertiliser sold for about N60,000, while Urea rose to N50,000 per bag.

As a result, the cost of cultivating one hectare of maize rose to over N2 million, compared with about N1 million in the preceding year.

With an average yield of 45 bags of 100kg per hectare, the farmers said each bag needed to sell for about N44,578 to enable them break even.

Instead, the prevailing market price fell to about N22,000 per 100kg bag, less than half the required recovery price, resulting in a loss of N22,577 per bag.

The farmers noted that from a total output of about 450,000 bags harvested across the 10,000 hectares, an aggregate loss of over N10.16 billion was recorded.

“With these losses, the farmers cannot afford the cost of farming next season,” the letter stated.

The farmers also said unless urgent support is provided, many producers, particularly in northern Nigeria, may abandon farming in the 2026 season, a situation they said could undermine President Bola Tinubu administration’s food security agenda.

“We appealed for a bailout through the CBN in the form of free or heavily subsidised inputs such as fertiliser and Urea for the 2026 farming season.

“We proposed to reimburse the Federal Government with maize equivalent to part of the value of the inputs at the end of the season.

“Such intervention would stabilise grain production, boost food availability, and deliver political and economic dividends ahead of the 2027 general election.

“Only by this arrangement will our clients and many other grain farmers around the country return to their farms in the 2026 farming season,” the letter said.

The farmers also requested an urgent meeting with relevant government officials, noting that preparations for the next planting season would soon commence. (THISDAY)

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