2,143 Kaduna Grain Farmers Seek Subsidy After Losing N10bn

A total of 2,143 grain farmers in Kaduna State have appealed to the federal government for subsidised farm inputs, following losses estimated at N10.16 billion during the 2025 farming season.

The farmers, from the three senatorial districts of Kaduna State, said they were pushed to the brink by the sudden decline in maize prices nationwide, despite unprecedented increases in the cost of agricultural inputs.

Their plea was contained in a letter addressed to the secretary to the government of the federation (SGF), the minister of Agriculture, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the three senators representing Kaduna State at the Senate.

The letter, written through their counsel, Ehizogie Fidelis Imadojemu, detailed how the farmers, operating under a maize farming scheme coordinated by Alhaji Rufai Muazu Dikko (popularly known as Sarkin Labar), were unable to recover production costs after harvest.

According to the farmers, the scheme, which began in 2017 with 1,000 hectares, has expanded to approximately 10,000 hectares, cultivated by 2,143 farmers across Igabi, Soba, Kauru, Zaria, and Sabon Gari local government areas.

Under the arrangement, Sarkin Labar provided capital, inputs, and logistics, while the farmers repaid him in maize after harvest.

However, the farmers said a 50kg bag of NPK fertiliser sold for about N60,000, while urea rose to N50,000 per bag. “As a result, the total cost of cultivating one hectare of maize climbed to over N2 million from about N1 million for the preceding 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 prevailing market price crashed to about N22,000 per 100kg bag. This is less than half the required recovery price, resulting in a loss of N22,577 per bag”

“From the total output of about 450,000 bags harvested across the 10,000 hectares, the farmers calculated an aggregate loss of over N10.16 billion.

“With these losses, the farmers cannot afford the cost of farming next season,” the letter stated, warning that the situation reflects the wider crisis facing maize farmers across Nigeria.

The farmers cautioned that unless urgent support is provided, many producers, particularly in northern Nigeria, may abandon farming in the 2026 season, a development they say could undermine the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration’s food security agenda.

They were requesting a bailout through the CBN in the form of free or heavily subsidised inputs, such as fertilisers and urea, for the 2026 farming season. “In return, they proposed to reimburse the Federal Government with maize equivalent to part of the value of the inputs at the end of the season”

The farmers argued that such an intervention would stabilise grain production, boost food availability, and deliver political and economic 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 letter said.

They also requested an urgent meeting with government officials, noting that preparations for the next planting season would soon begin.