EXPERTS have maintained that due to the high cost of food, the eating patterns of most low-income earners and the poor have changed because they cannot afford good meals. This, they say, will lead to high rates of malnutrition, especially among children and the aged. JULIANA AGBO examines the implications of the continuous price increase of commodities across the country.
As prices of commodities continue to soar beyond the reach of the poor in Nigeria, millions of Nigerians, especially the low-income earners, have continued to find it difficult to afford at least one square meal a day.
The price increase in cereal, maize meal, bread, sugar, tea, oil, salt, flour and other staples have forced the low-income earners and vulnerable people to adopt some cost-effective methods on the quantity and quality of their meals.
However, the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), has continuously expressed concern over the global food crisis over the years.
The organisation recently disclosed that over four million Nigerians go hungry and suffer from malnutrition due to food insufficiency.
This, it said, results from worsening insecurity, low farming activities, pests and diseases, natural disasters, loss of biodiversity, habitat destruction, economic challenges and devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Food prices that increase on a weekly and monthly basis in 2021 alone are said to be the worst hit since 2015.
A survey carried out by The Nation across different markets in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and some parts of Nasarawa State show that, apart from rice which increased by 10 per cent, other commodities, including livestock products, increased above 90 per cent between April and October 2021.
A visit to Mpape, Utako markets in Abuja and Masaka Market in Nasarawa State reveals that a cup of palm oil that was sold for N100 now sells between N180 and N200, while a cup of vegetable oil that was sold for N120 now sells for N250.
Other commodities such as Indomie noodles carton now sell for N4,600 (Super pack) against the initial price of N2,400 while a carton of chicken flavour now sells for N2,900 against the previous price of N1,600.
Currently, a pack of the super pack now sells for N120 while a pack of chicken flavour now sells for N100.
A sachet of milk which was sold for N50 now sells for N70, while a kilo of goat and beef previously sold between N1,400 and N1,500 now sell for N2,500 and N2,800.
A trader, Mrs Janet Boniface who spoke with The Nation said a bag of 1kg of Semovita that contains 10 is now N6, 000 against the initial price of N3, 700 obtained between April and June this year, while a carton of spaghetti that contains 20 packs now sells for N6,500 against the initial price of N3,500.
She said apart from rice and garri which have not increased so high as other commodities, other products have increased far above their normal prices between January and April.
She said Maggi Star seasoning that was sold for N250 now sells for N550 why Knorr seasoning that was sold for N350 and N400 now sells for between N600 and N700 depending on the flavour.
The Nation learnt that prices of different bean varieties have also doubled in the past weeks across major cities in Nigeria.
A big bag of brown beans, which sold within the range of N85, 000 and N88, 000 in previous weeks has surged by over 17 per cent to sell as high as N100, 000 in major markets, while a big bag of white beans costs between N56, 000 and N60, 000.
Another trader who spoke with The Nation, Chichi Adi said a lot of consumers are running away from beans due to the high cost.
Adi said she was yet to sell out most of the beans she bought in the past few weeks due to low patronage.
“Currently, we are buying a bag of white beans for N56, 000 while the brown beans sells between N90, 000 and N100, 000. They tell us to buy more and keep because it will be more expensive soon. A mudu of white beans is now N900 while the brown type sells for N1, 100,” she said.
The National President of the Cowpea and Beans Farmers, Processors and Marketers’ Association of Nigeria, Mr Shittu Kabir, in a chat with our reporter stated that the price of the product may go up to N150, 000 per bag as farmers are still battling with low yield factor due to shortage of rainfall and other challenges.
While noting that the country has been importing to meet up with local demand, Kabir said a lot of bean farmers have lost interest in continuing with the farming of the crop due to the challenges associated with it.
He said the association has reached out to the government several times for interventions such as the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme to boost bean production but was yet to get positive feedback.
He said: “Beans is a national crop just as rice. We have reached out to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to help us so that we can start dry season farming too. But we didn’t get any positive response from them.
Hike in cooking gas and kerosene
Many residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have resorted to the use of charcoal as an alternative to cooking gas and kerosene due to soaring prices.
The residents also lamented over the high cost of firewood as a small piece is sold for N100, making the price of charcoal to be exorbitant. A big bag of charcoal is sold between N2, 900 and N3, 000 as it has become the best alternative for cooking.
The Nation observed that the high cost of gas and kerosene has been persistent over the past few months. The 12.5kg of gas initially sold for between N4,000 and N4,500 now goes for N8, 200 to N8,400, or more while 6kg initially sold for between N2, 200 and N2, 300 now goes for N4, 200, while a litre of kerosene initially sold for N300 now goes for between N400 and N450.
Some FCT residents who spoke with The Nation said most families are finding cooking meals quite difficult with the increase in the products.
A resident of the Mpape community in the Bwari Area Council, Mrs Jane Ulaegbu said she had to resort to charcoal to prepare meals for her family as it has become frustrating to access cooking gas and kerosene.
She said: “I cannot afford to buy 1kg of gas because it is sold for N700 and kerosene is sold between N400 and N450 while one piece of firewood is sold for N100.”
A civil servant, Agnes Ujah said she could not cope with the high cost of gas and kerosene as she has a large family to prepare meals for.
Ujah, who is a resident of Nyanya in Abuja Municipal Area Council said she has never fancied the idea of cooking with a charcoal stove as it makes her uncomfortable.
According to her, charcoal has never been an option despite the high cost of gas in the past.
A businesswoman and a resident of the Gishiri Community, Grace John said she considered the challenges in the family and decided to resort to charcoal which she has not used over the years.
She added that the price of charcoal is gradually increasing as a lot of people have resorted to its use.
Major price increase in ‘pure water’
The sachet water, commonly known as ‘pure water’ which is the most popular source of drinking water in most cities and villages in Nigeria, recently witnessed a major price increase.
The producers, under the aegis of the Association of Table Water Producers’ Association of Nigeria, some months ago announced an increase in the price of sachet water due to rising production costs.
A bag of sachet water that contains 20 is now sold between N250 and N300 against the initial price of between N120 and N150 in most parts of the FCT.
Currently, a 50cl sachet of ‘pure water’ which was sold for N10 before now costs between N20 and N30 depending on the area.
A small scale businesswoman, Ada Icha said she stopped buying pure since it was announced that the price would go up last month, adding that she now takes water directly from her well and boil for her family to drink.
Implication
A nutritionist, Emeka Okoro said the implication of rising food costs on the economy may be tragic in the short and long term, particularly for children, the aged, and other vulnerable members of society.
Okoro said the eating pattern of most low-income earners and the poor have changed due to the inability to afford good meals. This will lead to high rates of malnutrition, especially among children and the aged.
He added that the ability of poor households to meet other important non-food expenses such as education and health care is limited by rising food prices.
“Criminality will be on the increase due to hunger and malnutrition,” he said.
Also, a medical practitioner, Dr Usha Anenga said in the case of the high cost of ‘pure water’, people may resort to drinking water that is not well treated due to its high cost.
This, he said, will lead to serious cases of people getting infected with water-borne diseases such as cholera and typhoid fever.
Experts proffer solutions
An economist, Joe Okpe said the Federal and state governments have roles to play in creating an environment where all people have enough food for a healthy and productive life.
Okpe said the authorities should endeavour to properly manage the situation before it gets out of control.
While noting that the current situation poses risks for poor people’s livelihoods and food security, he said the only way to stop price hiking on food is to through price control.
He said a law against price hikes and hoarding will protect the interest of consumers as well as producers.
Also, an Agricultural Economist in the Department of Agric Economics, University of Ibadan, Dr Victor Okoruwa who attributed the high cost of food to multiple exchange rates and rise in petroleum products, said urgent measures should be taken to address the situation.
Okoruwa, a Professor of Agricultural Economy said Nigeria will continue to have an increase in food prices as long as prices of petroleum products keep rising and exchange rate value keeps fluctuating.
In a chat with The Nation, Okoruwa said as long as the issues remained unattended to, products of other products such as farm inputs will continue to rise; which would also affect the quantity of food production this year.
While calling on the Federal Government to allow some products to be imported into the country to encourage producers, he said Nigeria cannot afford to face another food crisis in 2022.
According to him, Nigerian farmers have not been able to move away from the traditional system to mechanised agriculture, which remains a challenge.
”We cannot expand our scale of production because we are using small scale farming procedures,’ he said.
Another Agricultural Economist, Gabriel Aminu, who noted that the rising food prices are a reflection of supply-and-demand fundamentals, said there should be an investment in agriculture, particularly in agricultural science and technology.
