As the rainy season sets in and farmers going to farm, cost of food items is on the rise in Anambra and environs, even as residents call on governments at all levels to intervene.
The News Agency of Nigerian (NAN) reports on Monday in Awka that buyers and sellers are all feeling the negative impact of the rise in price for food items.
At Eke Awka market, a 50kg bag of local rice sells for N15,000 from its previous amount of N14,000, a 50kg bag of Beans sells for N28,000 from its former price of N27,000.
A Big bag of Semovita that goes for N2,500 now sells for N2,800, a 10 liter gallon of vegetable oil sells for N3,500 from its previous rate of N3,000.
Also, a big basket of fresh tomatoes now sells for between N16,000 and N19,000 depending on the species as against N10,000 and N12,000 sold in May.
Mr Frank Anigbogu, a resident attributed the high costs of food stuff to the planting season as farmers were just beginning to plant crops.
“Every year, when farming season starts, already harvested crops are being sold at higher rate so it is not new until government wades in through price control,” he said.
Mrs Grace Onwuka, a trader on her part said that cost of transporting their goods from the Northern part of the country is high.
“It is transportation that is our greatest concern, for at times, we pay more than expected in transporting our goods,” she said.
A farmer, Mr Chukwudi Nnakife, complained that activities of herders in the farms had also discouraged many farmers from planting adding that it had posed serious problems to food security.
Mrs Ify Ndubueze, a businesswoman called on governments at all levels to do all within their power in alleviating their plight.
“Government at all level should build us roads, provide amenities that will help farmers, market women and men.
“Our farmers need irrigation facilities, sellers need affordable market stores built by government for our people to be happy,” she said.
