Taraba State now has a 45 per cent decrease in the cost of yam, raw cassava and dried cassava, while the cost of sweet potatoes has decreased by 50 per cent.
Findings indicate that the state-wide bumper harvest was responsible for the drop in the price of goods like tuber crops.
The secretary of yam sellers in Jalingo’s major market, Mallam Lawal Haladu, told Daily Trust on Sunday that the market price of yam, sweet potatoes and cassava had dropped by 45 per cent because farmers in the state witnessed significant yield in production this year.
According to him, 100 large tubers of yam that were sold at N200,000 two months ago now cost N110,000.
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Haladu added that 10 tubers, which were sold at M20,000 two months ago, are now going for N10,000.
“Two months ago you could only get two tubers of yam at N5,000, but now, you get the same size at the rate of N2,500,” he said.
He said that last month, there was only one yam market at Monkin in the Zing Local Government Area of Taraba, but now, there are more than 10 markets in Yorro and Zing local government areas where merchants buy and take to different parts of the country.
“Farmers across Taraba State have witnessed bumper harvest and yam is now everywhere, that is why its prices came down by 45 per cent,” he said.
Findings further revealed that yam merchants from Jalingo and other parts of the country are buying in large quantities from Zing, Pantisawa, Hawan Mika, Pupile, KasuwanApawa and Gwangwan markets.
Findings by Daily Trust on Sunday also revealed that prices of both raw and dried cassava have come down.
A 100kg bag of dried cassava sold at N30,000 two months ago is now selling at N14,000 while a 100kg bag of raw cassava sold at N15,000 two months ago is now sold at the rate of N7,000.
Residents interviewed said a crash in the prices of foodstuff brought relief to them.
One of them, Mallam Rabiu Saidu, said that two months ago, a bag of maize was sold at N60,000 but the price has fallen to N23,000.
He said prices of yam, cassava, sweet potatoes and vegetables had come down and that was a relief to low-income earners in the society.
Findings also revealed that the price of groundnut crashed as well.
A 100kg bag of groundnut sold at N25,000 two months ago has fallen to between N12,000 and N13,000
A measure of groundnut sold at N1,100 two months ago is now between N350 and N400.
Findings further revealed that groundnut farmers across the state did not witness bumpers harvest because of delay in the arrival of rainfall this cropping season
The late arrival of rainfall experienced this cropping season resulted in the late planting of groundnut, and as a result, poor harvest was recorded.
A farmer, Musa Adamu, said this year’s poor groundnut harvest was recorded because of late cropping.
He said that last year, rain started very early and farmers took the advantage to plant groundnut very early and a bumper harvest was witnessed.
He said there could be a scarcity of groundnut this year and the price may soon go up because some middlemen were buying the produce in areas with high production.
Musa Adamu revealed that apart from the middlemen, there are groundnut oil millers from different parts of the country and their agents making bulk purchases, which may in a short time result in scarcity.
Adamu further said that Taraba State had suitable and fertile land for groundnut farming but farmers are not receiving encouragement in terms of loans and incentives as producers of other crops.
