By Usman Muhammad Zaria
The federal government has appealed to retailers of food items to reduce the prices of food prices to cushion the effect of inflation and rising food prices on Nigerians.
The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Alhaji Abubakar Kari, made the plea in Ringim Local Government Area of Jigawa State at the 2025 Wheat Farmers Green Field Day hosted by the Jigawa State government.
The minister who described the exploitation of consumers of staple foods as urged unpatriotic urged retailers to reflect the continuing reduction in food prices in their sales.
“The federal government is aware of the significant drop in the prices of foods across major markets, particularly for essential commodities such as flour, sugar rice and spaghetti.
“However, it is disturbing that many retailers, bakers, and shop owners have refused to reflect this reduction in their selling prices, thereby denying Nigerians the relief they deserve.
“In previous months, stakeholders in the food supply chain have raised concern over the rising prices of food items but now the prices are dropping.
“For instance, the price of flour has reduced from N81,000 per bag to below N60,000 and Spaghetti from N20,000 to N15,000, therefore it is only fair and just that consumers benefit from this reduction.
“The government is committed to ensuring food affordability and will continue to engage with relevant stakeholders to address this issue.
“I therefore urge all retailers and traders to reflect the current market realities in their pricing and act in good faith to ease the burden of Nigerians.
“Exploitation of consumers at a time when relief is needed is most unpatriotic and unacceptable,” the Minister said.
He announced a federal government donation of ten thousand water pumping machines, ten thousand sprayers, ten thousand litres of herbicides, another ten thousand litres of insecticide, ten thousand bags of organic fertiliser, and other items worth five billion Naira to support farmers in Jigawa State.
In his remarks, Governor Umar Namadi commended the federal government for its support to farmers in the state.
He said the transformation in wheat production started in Jigawa State last year with the federal government’s special allocation of agricultural inputs to eight thousand farmers at a subsidized rate.
He said the farmers cultivated forty thousand hectares of wheat to complement the federal government’s effort, he said the state government supported 16,454 farmers with a N2.2 billion loan, which they agreed to pay back after harvest.
Governor Namadi said the project was successful, with an eighty percent recovery rate and attracted revenue of over N8 billion to the state’s economy.
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