Nigerian Farmers Face Hunger as Global Food Crisis Hits Hard

Photo: Naturalnews.com

Oya Make We Talk True: Our Farmers Don Dey Suffer

My people, if you think say the current hardship na joke, wait until you see wetin dey come for 2026-2027. The fertilizer wahala wey don start small small go soon turn to full-blown crisis wey go affect every Nigerian household. From your mama wey dey sell tomatoes for market to the big rice farmers for Kebbi State, everybody go feel am.

The thing be say this crisis no just happen by chance. E be like when you see dark cloud for sky but you no carry umbrella – the rain go surely fall, but you fit still prepare. Our government and farmers need to wake up sharp sharp before this thing scatter everything.

How E Go Take Affect Nigerian Farmers

Make I break am down for you. Fertilizer prices don already skyrocket by over 300% since 2021, and many of our farmers don already dey struggle to buy the little wey dey available. By 2026, experts dey predict say the situation go become even worse.

Farmers like Mallam Ibrahim from Sokoto wey I talk to last month tell me say him don reduce him farmland from 50 hectares to just 15 hectares because fertilizer too costly. "The thing pain me well well," him talk, "but wetin person fit do? If I no get fertilizer, the crops no go grow well, and I go run at loss."

For states like Kano, Kaduna, and Niger wey be our food basket, small-scale farmers wey no fit afford expensive fertilizer go either:

• Reduce their farm size significantly
• Switch to crops wey no need plenty fertilizer but wey no dey pay well
• Abandon farming completely and join the already overcrowded cities
• Use traditional methods wey go give lower yields

Food Prices Go Reach Ceiling

Ehen, now make we talk the part wey go affect your pocket directly. When farmers no fit produce enough food, na who go suffer am? Na all of us! The same bag of rice wey cost ₦30,000 today fit reach ₦60,000 by 2027 if we no do something fast.

Already, we don dey see signs:

• Tomatoes don become luxury item for some areas
• Yam prices don triple for some markets
• Even garri wey be poor man food don dey cost
• Fish and meat prices don go up because animal feed sef expensive

The ripple effect go touch everything. Your children school fees, transport cost, even house rent – because when people hungry, everything else go suffer.

Wetin Cause This Wahala?

This fertilizer crisis no just fall from heaven. Several factors don contribute:

First, the Russia-Ukraine war scatter the global fertilizer supply chain. Russia na one of the biggest fertilizer exporters for the world, and when war start, export come reduce drastically.

Second, some international policies and trade restrictions don make the situation worse. Countries wey dey produce fertilizer don start to dey restrict export to protect their own farmers.

Third, our over-dependence on imported fertilizer na major problem. We dey import over 90% of our fertilizer needs instead of producing our own.

Solutions Wey Fit Save Us

But no be all doom and gloom o! We fit still salvage this situation if we act fast and smart.

For Individual Farmers:

• Start dey use organic fertilizers – compost, animal manure, and green manure
• Form cooperative societies to buy fertilizer in bulk at cheaper rates
• Practice crop rotation and intercropping to maintain soil fertility
• Adopt precision farming techniques to use fertilizer more efficiently

For Communities:

• Establish community compost centers
• Share knowledge about traditional farming methods wey our ancestors use
• Create seed banks to preserve local varieties wey need less fertilizer
• Support local farmers through group purchasing and marketing

Government Must Wake Up

Our government, both federal and state levels, need to take urgent action:

Immediate Actions:

• Subsidize fertilizer heavily for small-scale farmers
• Remove all taxes and tariffs on fertilizer imports temporarily
• Create strategic fertilizer reserves for emergency distribution
• Provide low-interest loans for farmers to buy inputs

Long-term Solutions:

• Build local fertilizer manufacturing plants – we get the raw materials
• Invest heavily in agricultural research to develop drought and pest-resistant crops
• Modernize our irrigation systems to reduce dependence on rain-fed agriculture
• Create agricultural insurance schemes to protect farmers from losses

The Time Na Now

My people, this matter no be small thing wey we fit ignore. If we fold our hands and dey look, by 2027, many Nigerian families go dey struggle to feed themselves properly. But if we act now – government, farmers, and citizens – we fit turn this challenge to opportunity.

Make we no wait until hunger catch us before we start to dey find solution. The warning signs don clear, and na now we suppose dey prepare. Whether na your small backyard garden or your big commercial farm, start now to diversify and look for alternatives.

Because at the end of the day, food na life, and life no get duplicate.