Security, Subsidised Inputs, Price Stability Top Farmers’ 2026 Expectations

Nigerian farmers have placed security, timely access to subsidised inputs and price stabilisation at the centre of their expectations for the agricultural sector in 2026.

They warned that failure to address the issues among others, could deepen food supply challenges and undermine production in the coming season.

Leaders of major farmers’ and agribusiness associations who set the 2026 agenda for agricultural sector, told LEADERSHIP that the experiences of 2025 which was marked by high production costs, weak markets and persistent security threats, have made decisive government intervention unavoidable.

The president of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Muhammad Magaji, said farmers ended 2025 at a disadvantage after selling produce below the cost of production, largely due to soaring input prices and poor market access.

He said farmers were now looking to both the federal and state governments for stronger support, particularly through subsidised inputs delivered at the right time, improved mechanisation and better security around farming communities.

Magaji noted that while the federal government had taken steps such as procuring tractors and strengthening security architecture, the impact would depend on effective deployment and sustained budgetary commitment by all tiers of government.

He stressed that agricultural budget performance at both federal and state levels would significantly shape farmers’ fortunes in 2026, calling for higher allocations and stronger implementation rates.

Magaji said farmers were hopeful that recent government actions signalled a renewed focus on agriculture but insisted that expectations remained high.

He said, “The expectation as far as the farmers are concerned in 2026 is much from both the federal and state government. Farmers have suffered a lot in 2025 because of lack of market. Unfortunately, the cost of production is higher than what the farmers sold their produce last year because they got the input at a very exorbitant price and the produce was sold at a giveaway price.

“We have informed the government of what we require in terms of input, especially giving the input at the appropriate time and at a very subsidised rate. The federal government has a lot of newly bought tractors, and the graduation of about 7,000 forest guards will assist in making farms secure and free for farmers to go back to their farms”.

Magaji emphasised that improved access to subsidised inputs, mechanisation and enhanced security could encourage farmers to return to their fields.

Similarly, the national president of the Potato Farmers Association of Nigeria (POFAN), Daniel Okafor, outlined a policy agenda that includes ending import waivers on agricultural products, expanding access to affordable credit, improving agricultural insurance and ensuring farmers’ safety.

He also urged the government to release the agriculture budget early in the year, directly support farmers’ associations with quality seeds and seedlings, invest in irrigation for year-round farming and reduce electricity tariffs to lower production costs across the value chain.

Okafor said policy consistency and early budget implementation were critical to restoring confidence in the sector.

“Import waivers should stop in 2026 immediately. Farmers’ associations should be supported with inputs in time, agricultural credit should be implemented, and security should be able to do their work so that farmers can go to their farms.

The agriculture budget should be released by February, farmers’ associations carried along in implementation and quality seeds and seedlings given to them directly,” Okafor said.

From the agribusiness perspective, the president of the Nigeria Agribusiness Group (NABG), Arc. Kabir Ibrahim, warned that falling food prices, without corresponding reductions in input costs, could discourage smallholder farmers and small-scale producers from returning to production in 2026.

He argued that such lethargy could trigger fresh scarcity and fuel worse inflation later, as he advocated for the urgent resuscitation of a Guaranteed Minimum Price (GMP) system to stabilise farm incomes and sustain production.

Ibrahim warned that without deliberate price intervention, Nigeria risks another food crisis.

“It is not yet uhuru for Nigerians when a reduction of food inflation comes with severe consequences on smallholder farmers who cannot break even because of high input prices.

The resuscitation of the guaranteed minimum price, targeting staples across the six geopolitical zones and intervening to bring down fertilizer and input costs, might avert a food crisis from mid-2026 to 2027 and beyond,” Ibrahim said.