Currently, a large population of the country is finding it difficult to access this crucial staple for homes, as it is gradually becoming affordable only to the rich, writes ASSISTANT FEATURES EDITOR, GBENGA AKINFENWA.
In Ogun State, a dozen of medium size tubers, which sold for between N7,000 and N8, 000, currently sells for between N15, 000 and N17, 000. “The food inflation rate reached 40.01 per cent year-on-year, marking an increase of 15.56 percentage points from 24.24 per cent in March 2023,” the report said. A yam seller at the popular Ile-Epo Market, Oke-Odo, Lagos, Mrs. Joke Idowu, told The Guardian that it is practically becoming impossible for some of them to continue with the business as wholesalers increase price almost on a daily basis.
Yam cultivation is an area where Nigeria has comparative advantage over other countries across the world. The country is the largest producer of yam across the globe, producing over 70 to 76 per cent of the world’s yam output. There are other states where this crop is grown, though on a small scale and at a subsistence level, as yam is a very crucial staple for homes.
Investigations revealed that the use of yam as an industrial starch has also been established, as the quality of some of the species is able to provide as much starch as cereals. Kalgo, who sells the produce at Ijako market in Ogun State, noted that insecurity and herders/farmers clashes are the reasons yam production has declined, as majority of the farmers in the states are now living at Internally Displaced Persons camps after being driven out of their homes and farms.
Just a few months ago, FAO predicted that no fewer than 26.5 million Nigerians may face food crisis between June and August this year. He said about 26.5 million Nigerians may encounter food crisis this year, adding that the current cycle is happening after an unusual lean season that witnessed several shocks, ranging from persistent insecurity situations like insurgency and banditry.
Ogbeh, who stressed the need for such a move, said export was one of the ways Nigeria could prevent food wastage, lamenting the country’s poor post-harvest preservation capacity. An agricultural extension officer and lecturer at the Federal College of Forestry, Jericho, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nwachi Analechi, identified insecurity, scarcity of yam inputs, increasing inflation and other factors as causes of the scarcity.