The recent high cost of beans experienced in the country which has sent panic across the nation has been an issue that dominates almost every platform of discussion. It was gathered that the price of beans has reached the highest price ever recorded in Nigeria, and that has generated a serious concern to consumers, as well as farmers.
Producers of beans have attributed the recent high price to some notable factors that have affected production in the country.
However, the Cowpea Farmers Association of Nigeria (CFAN) revealed that moves were currently being made to see that the issues identified were rectified.
Malam Sale Maigari Tunfafi, Kano State deputy chairman of CFAN, said the high cost of beans being experienced in the nation recently was the aftermath of several issues, noting that the issues didn’t affect beans only, but that the beans issue was the worst.
He, however, said that with the association’s move the price had started dropping.
He explained that one of the reasons behind the high cost was the drop in beans production last year. According to him, beans being one of the last farm produces harvested every year was affected by herders’ invasion of farmlands as the dry season set which resulted in serious damages to beans farms.
He also identified the high cost of agricultural inputs as another barrier that forced many beans farmers to reduce the size of their farms.
He further revealed that the issue of beans exportation by merchants to neigbouring countries.
“We have learnt that with the nation’s devaluation of its currency, many merchants found opportunities to export our agricultural commodities outside the country for foreign exchange. Initially, neigbouring countries did complement the nation’s beans demand because merchants did import beans to Nigeria, but with the naira devaluation, they found out that it was more rewarding to export instead of importing and this contributed to the rise in price as the demand increased heavily,” he revealed.
“We are currently holding a series of meetings with stakeholders in beans production along its value chain with the intent of arriving at a lasting solution to this alarming problem. It will interest you to note that, already our move has begun to yield positive results as the price of beans has started to drop,” he said.
Meanwhile, as the wet season is setting in, various research institutes have started to make attempts to ensure improvement in beans production. One of these institutions is the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA). It was gathered that the institute organised a two-day pre-season and planning workshop aimed at consolidating the gains in the sustainable delivery of improved cowpea seeds to smallholder farmers in Nigeria.
According to IITA seed specialist, Professor Lucky Omoigui, the pre-season and planning workshop is aimed at bringing together all stakeholders along the legume seed value chain to brainstorm and finalise the work plan, outline the plan of activities for 2024 wet season to achieve the year’s milestone and chart a seed roadmap for a robust legume seed system in Nigeria.
Professor Omoigui explained that the deficit usually encountered in cowpea production was associated with farmers’ inability to access good seeds, agro inputs, as well as improved varieties that had been developed over time to mitigate high and qualitative yield and other production constraints.
Reports have indicated that the price of beans has reached over N200, 000 per 100kg bag, the highest reached in over four decades.
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