Farmers in Taraba State have warned that soaring petrol and diesel prices could force many to abandon irrigation farming in the coming season, raising fears of reduced rice production, food shortages and worsening financial difficulties for farming households.
The farmers said rising fuel prices, coupled with the high cost of fertilisers, tractor services and labour, had pushed production expenses beyond what many could afford, leaving them uncertain about investing in another farming season.
They warned that hundreds of farmers could stay away from their fields, particularly as low prices for some agricultural produce make it increasingly difficult to recover production costs and earn profits.
The situation is particularly challenging for irrigation farmers, who depend on petrol- and diesel-powered water pumps to supply their farms during the dry season.
According to the Taraba State Chairman of the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN), Tanko Bobbo Andami, rising fuel prices had become a major obstacle to irrigation farming, especially in communities far from filling stations.
Andami explained that farmers in Karim-Lamido, Lau and Gassol local government areas often travelled long distances to purchase fuel or relied on black-market vendors who charged significantly higher prices.
He said petrol was selling for between ₦1,800 and ₦1,900 per litre in some remote farming communities, while diesel cost about ₦2,200 per litre, significantly increasing the cost of operating irrigation pumps.
He warned that the additional expenses could discourage many farmers from participating in the coming irrigation season, with serious implications for rice and other dry-season crops.
The challenge is compounded by the widening gap between production costs and the prices farmers receive for their harvests.
Alhaji Haliru Binnare, a large-scale farmer operating in the Binnare area of Karim-Lamido Local Government Area, said irrigation farming had become increasingly expensive, with many farmers struggling to recover their investments after harvesting.
Binnare disclosed that he spent more than ₦3 million on paddy rice production during the last irrigation season but earned less than his total investment from the sale of his harvest.
He said the prospect of further increases in production costs had made him uncertain about returning to the farm this year, adding that many farmers were facing similar difficulties.
“The price of a bag of NPK fertiliser is now ₦50,000, while an hour of tractor service costs ₦140,000. This is apart from other expenses,” he said.
He added that a 100-kilogramme bag of paddy rice was selling for between ₦40,000 and ₦43,000, with prices often falling further during the harvest period.
“In this situation, how can a farmer recover production costs and make a profit? It appears the government is not ready to encourage food production in the country,” Binnare said.
The farmers’ concerns reflect broader challenges facing agricultural production in Taraba State, where rising input costs and uncertain market returns are threatening the viability of farming investments.
Zubairu Adamu, a farmer in Donada village in Lau Local Government Area, accused the government of failing to provide adequate support, particularly through agricultural input subsidies and measures to make essential farming materials more affordable.
He said farmers were largely left to finance their operations with personal resources, making it increasingly difficult for small-scale producers to remain in business.
Adamu also observed that some farmers were switching from food crops to cash crops because of differences in profitability. He identified soybeans, melon seeds and sesame as crops offering better financial prospects than maize, paddy rice and cassava.
He warned that rising petrol and diesel prices could further accelerate the decline in irrigation farming, particularly following the financial losses many farmers reportedly suffered during the previous season.
“With the increase in the prices of petrol and diesel, many farmers may not engage in irrigation farming this year because of their experience during the last irrigation season, when many could not recover their investments,” he said.
For farmers already struggling to balance rising production costs against unstable market prices, the coming irrigation season presents a difficult choice between investing more money in farming and risking further losses.
The farmers fear that unless the challenges are addressed, reduced participation in irrigation farming could undermine rice and other crop production, threaten the livelihoods of farming households and put additional pressure on food availability across Taraba State.