The Senate on Tuesday moved to protect Nigerian farmers from collapsing produce prices and soaring input costs, urging the Federal Government to subsidise fertilisers and revive commodity boards to stabilise agricultural markets.
The resolutions followed a motion by Senator Mohammed Danjuma Goje (Gombe Central), which highlighted the growing disparity between falling farm-gate prices and persistently high costs of inputs such as fertilisers, pesticides, and insecticides. Goje warned that the widening gap threatens the livelihoods of millions of farmers nationwide.
While crediting the government for lowering consumer food prices through import waivers and special import permissions, Goje noted a serious unintended consequence: cheaper imports have depressed domestic produce prices, squeezing farmers’ profits and creating massive post-harvest losses.
Lawmakers stressed that continued declines in farm-gate prices could discourage farmers from planting in upcoming seasons, weakening domestic food production and rural economies. They also warned that overreliance on imported food could undermine Nigeria’s food sovereignty and expose the economy to global price shocks.
To address these challenges, the Senate called for an emergency intervention package to cushion affected farmers, the establishment of benchmark minimum prices for major commodities, and a guaranteed off-take programme under which public agencies would buy produce at agreed rates.
The resolutions further urged investment in storage, irrigation, processing centres, and rural roads, while strengthening coordination among ministries, state governments, commodity boards, and cooperatives to ensure fair pricing, efficient transport, and improved market access.
Senators also recommended a review of import waiver policies to allow local produce to compete fairly with foreign goods, safeguarding the viability of Nigeria’s agricultural sector.
In other news, the Senate on Tuesday approved the nomination of three ambassadorial nominees—Ayodele Oke, Colonel Kayode Are (rtd) and Amin Dalhatu—for appointment as envoys.
The approval followed the consideration and adoption of a report by the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, presented during plenary by its chairman, Senator Abubakar Sani Bello.
Oke, a former Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) and ex-Nigerian Ambassador to the Commonwealth Secretariat in London; Are, a former Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS); and Dalhatu, Nigeria’s immediate past Ambassador to South Korea, were unanimously endorsed by lawmakers after Senate President Godswill Akpabio put their nominations to a voice vote.
In his remarks, Akpabio urged the ambassadors-designate to draw on their wealth of experience in the discharge of their diplomatic duties.
