Experts Call for Long-Term Agricultural Reforms as Food Prices Continue to Rise
As food prices continue to climb across Nigeria, agricultural experts and industry stakeholders are urging policymakers to move beyond short-term relief measures and focus on long-term reforms capable of building a more resilient and productive food system.
They argue that while seasonal shortages, climate disruptions, insecurity and rising production costs have contributed to recent increases in the prices of staple foods, the country’s recurring food inflation challenges stem largely from deeper structural weaknesses that have remained unresolved for decades.
According to stakeholders, the latest surge in food prices should serve as a wake-up call for government and industry leaders to address fundamental issues affecting agricultural productivity, market efficiency and food distribution.
Speaking on the challenges confronting the sector, Austine Adeniba, Chief Operating Officer of Eliakim Integrated Services Limited, said the recent increases in tomato and pepper prices were driven by a combination of supply shortages, adverse weather conditions, pest infestations, rising transportation costs, inadequate storage infrastructure and growing consumer demand.
He noted that the repeated cycle of scarcity during off-seasons and oversupply during harvest periods demonstrates the need for a more strategic and sustainable approach to agricultural development.
According to Adeniba, Nigeria’s food-price volatility is not merely a seasonal issue but a reflection of broader structural challenges including climate vulnerability, poor rural infrastructure, weak logistics networks, insecurity, low farm productivity, inadequate processing capacity and inconsistent policy implementation.
He stressed that sustainable solutions require a coordinated national strategy focused on increasing productivity, strengthening climate resilience, improving infrastructure, promoting value addition and enhancing market efficiency.
“If properly implemented, such reforms could stabilize food prices, improve farmer incomes, create employment opportunities and position Nigeria as a leading agricultural economy within Africa,” he said.
Climate change was also identified as a major factor contributing to rising food prices and production challenges.
Oyewole Okewole, Senior Associate Consultant at FutuX Agri-consult Limited, explained that Nigeria’s horticultural sector remains particularly vulnerable to changing weather patterns and extreme climate conditions.
He observed that tomato and pepper production is heavily concentrated in northern states including Kaduna, Kano, Plateau, Jigawa and Katsina, making national supply highly sensitive to drought, excessive heat, flooding and irregular rainfall patterns.
According to him, increasing temperatures are already affecting flowering, fruit development and overall crop yields, while climate stress is accelerating post-harvest deterioration and reducing marketable produce.
Okewole warned that climate change has become one of the most significant threats facing Nigeria’s horticulture industry because crops such as tomatoes and peppers are highly sensitive to fluctuations in temperature and water availability.
He added that changing environmental conditions are also creating favorable environments for pests and diseases, further reducing productivity and increasing production risks for farmers.
To mitigate these challenges, he advocated greater investment in climate-smart agriculture, including greenhouse production systems, drip irrigation technologies, solar-powered irrigation infrastructure and the adoption of heat-tolerant crop varieties.
Stakeholders also expressed concern over the high volume of food lost after harvest due to inadequate storage and processing infrastructure.
According to Okewole, Nigeria continues to lose substantial quantities of perishable produce because of poor storage systems, insufficient cold-chain facilities and limited processing capacity.
The result, he explained, is a recurring situation where farmers struggle to sell excess produce during harvest seasons, only for shortages and price spikes to emerge a few months later.
He emphasized that investments in cold storage facilities, refrigerated transportation, drying centres and processing plants would significantly reduce post-harvest losses and improve food availability throughout the year.
“Without adequate cold-chain infrastructure, Nigeria will continue losing a large percentage of perishable agricultural products before they reach consumers,” he stated.
The rising cost of agricultural inputs was also highlighted as a major challenge affecting food production.
Bola Oyeleke, National President of the Tomato and Orchard Producers Association of Nigeria (TOPAN), noted that the prices of fertilizers, seeds and other farm inputs have increased significantly, making farming more expensive and less profitable for producers.
According to him, many farmers are struggling to cope with escalating production costs, insecurity, climate-related risks and limited access to affordable financing.
Oyeleke stressed that increased access to mechanisation, improved farm equipment and climate-smart technologies could help farmers boost productivity and overcome some of the constraints limiting agricultural growth.
He also called for stronger government support through mechanisation programmes, strategic food reserves and targeted interventions aimed at increasing agricultural output.
Similarly, Adebowale Onafowora, Managing Director of BIC Farms Concept, argued that sustainable food security can only be achieved when farmers remain profitable and confident enough to continue investing in production.
He warned that policies which fail to support local producers could discourage expansion and reduce future food supply.
According to him, government and private-sector stakeholders should explore guaranteed produce off-take arrangements, improved logistics systems and wider adoption of Controlled Environment Agriculture to reduce dependence on unpredictable weather conditions and improve production consistency.
Industry experts believe that without significant structural reforms, Nigeria may continue experiencing recurring cycles of food shortages, price volatility and inflationary pressures that affect both farmers and consumers.
Commodity.ng Insight / Digest
The recurring rise in food prices is increasingly exposing a critical reality: Nigeria’s food inflation problem is not simply about production volumes—it is fundamentally a systems problem.
While interventions often focus on distributing inputs or importing food to ease temporary shortages, many of the underlying issues remain unresolved. Farmers continue to battle climate shocks, poor rural infrastructure, insecurity, weak storage systems, inadequate processing facilities and limited access to affordable financing.
One of the most striking observations from industry experts is the paradox of abundance and scarcity. During harvest periods, farmers frequently struggle to sell produce due to market gluts and weak storage capacity. Yet just a few months later, shortages emerge and prices surge because much of the harvested produce has been lost to spoilage.
The situation highlights the urgent need to shift from reactive interventions to long-term agricultural planning.
What This Means for Commodity Markets
- Climate-related disruptions are likely to increase volatility in the supply of tomatoes, peppers and other horticultural crops.
- Rising production costs may continue to push food prices upward unless productivity improves significantly.
- Investments in storage, processing and logistics could help stabilize supplies and reduce seasonal price swings.
- Mechanisation and climate-smart agriculture may become increasingly important for maintaining production levels.
- Improved value-chain infrastructure could boost farmer profitability while reducing consumer food costs.
Bottom Line
Nigeria’s food security challenge extends beyond farm production. The country needs a comprehensive agricultural transformation strategy that addresses climate resilience, storage infrastructure, mechanisation, processing capacity, logistics and farmer profitability. Without these reforms, food-price spikes may continue to recur regardless of short-term interventions. Sustainable food security will depend on building a system that works efficiently from farm to market.
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