The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) has said that the new the food security strategy currently being implemented by the federal government has subjected farmers and investors in the agric sector to untold suffering.
While calling on the federal government to quickly initiate what it called, Farm Price Stabilisation and Farmer Income Protection framework, CPPE, said this is in view of the troubling trade-offs and unintended consequences produced by the food security strategy.
CPPE in a policy brief titled Imperative for Sustainable Food Security, Rural Livelihoods and National Economic Stability, noted that whilst consumers have applauded the sharp decline in food prices and the notable moderation in food inflation, investors and producers in the agricultural sector are lamenting heavy losses arising from the collapse in prices of key commodities.
The Centre in the document signed by its Chief Executive Officer, Dr Muda Yusuf, said it is of the firm view that Nigeria urgently requires a clear, rules-based and market-friendly Farm Price Stabilisation and Farmer Income Protection Framework.
“Such a framework should prevent import-induced price crashes, reduce harvest-time price collapse, discourage distress sales, protect farmer livelihoods, strengthen value chains, and provide stable supply conditions for processors and consumers”, it said.
While acknowledging that the welfare gains from cheaper food have been profound and should be applauded, CPPE said the cost to farmers and other investors across the agricultural value chain is equally significant and cannot be ignored.
Throughout last year, Nigeria experienced steady drop in food inflation essentially due to heavy food importation by the government in its effort to force down headline inflation which is chiefly driven by high food prices.
Data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) shows that Nigeria spent N5.27 trillion on food and beverage imports in the first nine months of 2025.
The result is that food prices have become cheap, but the agrochemicals and other inputs for farming remain alarmingly high, eroding the farmers’ income.
CPPE said there is therefore an urgent need to strike a sustainable balance between two critical national objectives: keeping food affordable for consumers while protecting farmers’ incomes and safeguarding investment in agriculture.
According to CPPE, “This development presents a major policy dilemma that demands urgent attention. Nigeria cannot afford a policy regime that undermines confidence and discourages investment in agriculture, one of the most strategic sectors of the economy, a major source of livelihoods, and one of the country’s largest employers of labour.”
It called for policy recalibration and rebalancing to ensure that farmers remain productively engaged, rural incomes are protected, and investor confidence across the agricultural value chain is sustained, without compromising the equally important objective of keeping food affordable for Nigerian households. “There is a need for a coherent programme grounded in global best practices and adapted to Nigeria’s fiscal and governance realities”, it said.
It listed some of the factors responsible for falling food prices to include, the limited availability of storage facilities, drying centres and cold-chain systems which forces farmers to sell immediately regardless of market conditions; weak rural logistics, poor roads, insecurity, high transport costs, and limited aggregation hubs, making it difficult to move produce efficiently from production zones to high-demand markets.
“In addition, Nigeria’s agricultural markets suffer from inadequate processing capacity. When surplus produce cannot be absorbed by processors, raw commodities flood open markets, leading to sharp price declines.
“The combined effect is a recurring pattern: farmers sell at very low prices immediately after harvest, only for prices to rise sharply months later when supply drops. This volatility harms producers and consumers alike and reflects deep structural weaknesses in market organisation.”
CPPE noted that the new framework should be anchored on principles that reduce uncertainty, promote investment, and encourage private sector participation.
“A key pillar of the stabilisation programme is the introduction of Minimum Guaranteed Prices (MGP) or price floors for selected strategic commodities including maize, rice paddy, Sorghum, and Soybeans.
“This is a global best practice for protecting farmers against severe price collapses”, it noted, adding that the MGP system should not become an open-ended government purchase programme. “Rather, it should operate strictly as a stabilising backstop. When market prices fall below the support price, government can intervene through licensed agencies and aggregators to purchase at the support price.”
According to the CPPE, Nigeria’s agricultural transformation cannot be achieved without stabilising farmer incomes. “Price collapses destroy incentives to farm, reduce production over time, and worsen rural poverty.”