How High Cost Of Living Is Affecting Dry Season Farming In Taraba

 

By Baba Sadeeq

 

Dry season farming is a method of farming by which a farmer, just because there is no hope of rainfall, goes ahead to supply water by himself to produce agricultural produce in his farm.

 

Before the emergence of high cost of living, dry season farming seemed to be the most affordable and cheapest method used by farmers as the process involved the use of engines to supply the quantity of water needed in their farms.

The methods of irrigation would be applied in such farms with a view to creating an avenue where water can pass through the entire farm land, until the satisfactory quantity needed is achieved.

Prices of all items were affordable before the removal of fuel subsidy, within a moment when everything skyrocketed, even though, the dry season farming is associated with so many problems but the problems are not unaffordable like now.

A lot of people engaged in dry season farming before, unlike today when the number have reduced drastically as a result of increase in prices of farm implements and machineries and also the cost of transportation which makes the cost of farming so expensive.

 Engines, fuel, chemicals, fertilizer, machines and seeds among others are the necessary items required for dry season farming.

Sani Mohammad is a farmer from Kachalla Sembe Ward of Jalingo local government area of Taraba State and a member of Naduke Multi-purpose Cooperative Society, Jalingo.

Mohammed said, "I bought Generator early last year at the rate of Sixty five (N65,000.00) but this year the cost price rose to One Hundred and Seventy five thousand Naira (N175,000.00), host Intec and host outtake, were sold at the rate of Fifty five thousand Naira (N55,000.00) last year and it is now One Hundred and Twenty Five Thousand Naira (N125,000.00) only".

A litre is now N1,250 in the filling station against last year which was sold at Six Hundred Naira (N600.00), Diesel was Nine Hundred Naira (N900.00) some years back but is now about One Thousand, Six Hundred Naira (N1,600.00) and one can spend a litre within a space of two hours".

Chemicals and bags of fertilizer are also too expensive". 

Mallam Sani Mohammad added that "To have a labourer that you can pay to work in your farm is another problem, talk less of the money to pay the labourer".

Adamu Danladi, a dry season farmer from Karim Lamido Local Government Area of Taraba State stated that; "Last year I spent Six Hundred Thousand Naira (N600,000.00) only in my farm and harvested crops in a large quantity, worth more than Two Million Naira (N2,000,000.00) only. But now I spent almost Seven Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira (N750,000.00) and still in the season, I do not know how much I am going to spend before the end of the season".

The Ward Head of Kachalla Sembe Ward of Jalingo local government area who doubles as a grassroot farmer, Kachalla Ishiyaku Kachalla said he used to harvest more than Two hundred (200) bags of rice every year but due to high cost of farm inputs and machineries, he wondered if he can be able to harvest even Fifty (50) bags of the same products this year 2025.

"A potion where a tractor can work at the rate of Two Hundred Thousand (N200,000.00) last year is now Eight Hundred Thousand Naira (N800,000.00) to One Million Naira (N1,000, 000.00) respectively".

"Goods that one can spend One Hundred Thousand Naira (N1000,000.00) to harvest before, you must now spend at least Three Hundred Thousand Naira (N300,000.00)",

"Therefore, people should not expect that the price of farm produce will become cheap as a result of a bumper harvest. This is because the cost of the product has already been effected by the high cost of farm input and fuel subsidy removal that becomes a major problem",

"This is not just in agricultural activities, but almost in all aspects of human endeavour", he stated.

He further called on the general public to engage in praying for God to bring a solution to the above stated problem.

Ishiyaku Kachalla reiterated that the prices of farm produce this year will be more expensive than that of the previous years.

He however, called on government to help the farmers with cash and agro-chemicals, as the dry season farming cannot be successfully done with little or no money.

Sani Muhammad a farmer, during an interview in Jalingo called on the Taraba State Government to emulate the Kano State Government which is busy constructing drainages in the farms to enhance dry season farming and also to help the poor farmers to produce what they can survive with.

Looking at these numerous challenges facing the dry season farming, there is an indication that the prices of farm produce after the harvest in this dry season is not expected to drop, but probably experience more increase.

In conclusion, the only solution to this problem is, "the Governments' engagement in agricultural activities as well as supporting farmers with loan to enable them produce large quantity of crops so that the produce can become more available as the availability affect the prices of commodities"