Abuja: A research and advisory firm, Veriv Africa, has urged Nigeria to embrace new farming technologies, overhaul its agricultural credit system, and address farmer-herder clashes to boost its food security aspirations. This is contained in Veriv Africa, a data-driven and intelligence analysis firm’s food price baseline survey report, 2025.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, the document analyzed price dynamics in six key crop value chains across the country. The crops and their areas of abundance include cocoa in Ondo State, sesame and beans in Kano, rice and corn in Niger, tomato in Kaduna, and yam in Benue. The study, conducted in February, engaged 543 smallholder farmers.
The firm highlighted the importance of technology in farming and post-farming activities. It said private sector investment demonstrated the potential of modern processing techniques to boost yields and incomes and recommended the revival of Staple Crop Processing Zones. These zones, an initiative of the African Development Bank, aim to transform agriculture by establishing processing hubs in crop-producing areas, focusing on value addition and reducing reliance on imports. Some zones are located in Akwa Ibom, Edo, and Osun.
The findings also offered critical insights into farmer demographics, sentiments, challenges, and priorities, laying the groundwork for data-driven decision-making and policy formulation. The survey on farmer demographics and challenges revealed that 84 percent of surveyed farmers operate on small landholdings of one to four acres, predominantly relying on family labor. Access to finance remains a significant hurdle, with 60 percent funding their farming activities through personal savings and only 12 percent accessing formal credit.
The most pressing challenges identified by farmers are lack of finance (54 percent), insecurity (21 percent), and post-harvest losses (12 percent). The survey also documented a baseline for crop prices across the surveyed regions, providing a snapshot of market conditions at the time of data collection. Recorded prices include cocoa at ?110,000 per 50kg bag, sesame at ?102,305.19 per 50kg bag, farm-priced un-milled rice at ?43,750 per 50kg bag, yam at ?39,423.08 per 50-tuber group, corn at ?36,309.52 per 50kg bag, and tomato at ?12,500 per 50kg basket.
The report recommended immediate and decisive action to address farmer-herder conflicts and rural kidnappings, which pose a significant threat to farming activities and livelihoods. It emphasized the need to prioritize investments in essential rural infrastructure such as roads, irrigation systems, electricity supply, and storage facilities through public-private partnerships to reduce post-harvest losses and improve market access. A comprehensive overhaul of the agricultural credit system is necessary to dismantle barriers related to collateral and residency, enabling smallholder farmers to access much-needed financial resources.
The report also highlighted the success of private-sector investments in produce such as tomatoes.