Fuel price hike threatens irrigation farming in Taraba

Farmers in Taraba State have expressed concern that rising petrol and diesel prices could negatively affect irrigation farming in the state, warning that the development may force many of them to abandon the next farming season.

The farmers, who spoke in separate interviews, said they were already struggling with the high costs of fertiliser, tractor-hiring services and labour. They said the rising cost of fuel would further increase their production expenses.

They explained that many farmers might be unable to participate in irrigation farming because of its high capital requirements, especially as the prices of some farm produce remain low.

Tanko Bobbo Andami, chairman of the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria in Taraba State and a large-scale farmer, told Daily Trust that irrigation farmers depend on petrol and diesel to power water pumps used to irrigate their farms.

He said the high cost of fuel had become a major challenge, particularly for farmers operating in remote areas without filling stations.

According to him, many irrigation farms in Karim-Lamido, Lau and Gassol local government areas are located far from petrol stations, forcing farmers either to travel long distances to buy fuel or rely on black-market sellers, who charge higher prices.

Andami lamented that petrol now sells for between N1,800 and N1,900 per litre, while diesel costs about N2,200 per litre in many of the remote areas where irrigation farming takes place.

He warned that the high cost of fuel, alongside other production expenses, could discourage hundreds of farmers from engaging in irrigation farming in the state this year.

Another large-scale farmer, Alhaji Haliru Binnare, who farms in the Binnare area of Karim-Lamido Local Government Area, also expressed concern that the rising prices of petrol and diesel could further reduce farming activities in Taraba State and across the country.

He said irrigation farming had become increasingly capital-intensive, requiring substantial investment, while farmers were struggling to recover their production costs.

Binnare said he invested more than N3 million in paddy rice production during the last irrigation season but realised less than the amount invested after harvesting and selling his produce.

He said the latest increase in fuel prices could make it difficult for many farmers, including himself, to participate in irrigation farming this year.

“You see, the price of a bag of NPK fertiliser is now N50,000, while an hour of tractor service costs N140,000. This is apart from other expenses. Meanwhile, a 100kg bag of paddy rice still sells for between N40,000 and N43,000, and the price usually drops 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,” he said.

Similarly, Zubairu Adamu, a farmer in Donada, Lau Local Government Area, accused the government of failing to provide adequate support to farmers.

He said the government had not done enough to regulate the prices of agricultural inputs or provide subsidies to farmers, as he said was the practice in some other countries.

According to him, farmers were left to source funds for their farming activities without adequate government intervention.

Adamu said many farmers in the state were shifting from food crops to cash crops because of the difference in profitability.

He listed soya beans, melon seeds and sesame among the cash crops he said were more profitable to cultivate than food crops such as maize, paddy rice and cassava.

“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.

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