No fewer than 2,143 grain farmers in Kaduna State have reported losses estimated at N10.16 billion during the 2025 farming season, following a sharp nationwide crash in maize prices amid soaring production costs.
The farmers, drawn from all 23 local government areas of the state, have appealed to the Federal Government for urgent intervention through free or heavily subsidised farm inputs ahead of the 2026 planting season.
In a petition 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 farmers warned that many of them may abandon farming entirely if no support is provided.
The letter, written through their counsel, Barrister Ehizogie Fidelis Imadojemu, explained that the farmers operate under a maize farming scheme coordinated by Alhaji Rufai Muazu Dikko, popularly known as Sarkin Labar. The scheme, which began in 2017 with 1,000 hectares, has expanded to about 10,000 hectares cultivated by the 2,143 farmers across Igabi, Soba, Kauru, Zaria, and Sabon Gari local government areas.
Under the arrangement, Sarkin Labar provides capital, farm inputs and logistics, while participating farmers repay him with maize after harvest and sell the remainder for income.
However, the farmers said the 2025 season proved disastrous. According to the petition, the cost of key inputs rose sharply, with a 50kg bag of NPK fertiliser selling for about N60,000 and urea for N50,000 per bag. As a result, the cost of cultivating one hectare of maize rose to over N2 million, compared to about N1 million in the previous 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 break even. Instead, the market price crashed to about N22,000 per 100kg bag, resulting in a loss of N22,577 per bag.
From a total harvest of about 450,000 bags across the 10,000 hectares, the farmers calculated an aggregate loss exceeding N10.16 billion.
The petition warned that the losses have left farmers unable to finance the next farming season, describing the situation as a reflection of the broader crisis facing maize producers across Nigeria.
The farmers cautioned that unless urgent support is provided, many producers—particularly in northern Nigeria—may opt out of farming in 2026, a development they said could undermine the Tinubu administration’s food security agenda.
They are requesting a bailout through the Central Bank in the form of free or subsidised fertiliser, urea and other inputs for the 2026 season. In return, they proposed to reimburse the Federal Government with maize equivalent to part of the value of the inputs after harvest.
According to the letter, such an intervention would stabilise grain production, boost food availability and deliver economic and political dividends ahead of the 2027 general elections.
“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 petition stated.
The farmers also requested an urgent meeting with government officials, noting that preparations for the next planting season would soon begin.
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