By Awyetu Asabe Hope
More rice farmers in Kano are set to quit or scale down production following heavy losses recorded during the 2025 wet season.
A report by the National Agribusiness Policy Mechanism revealed that about 3,500 rice farmers are considering abandoning cultivation after incurring losses estimated at ₦93 billion.
The survey, which covered 33,507 farmers across 13 pilot states, found that 10.6 per cent of rice farmers plan to reduce output in the 2025/2026 dry season.
It also showed a 7.9 per cent decline in rice production last wet season as many farmers shifted to more profitable cash crops such as soybeans, ginger and sesame.
Some affected farmers blamed falling paddy prices and rising input costs for their decision.
A Kano-based farmer, Shehu Garun Malam, said he would switch to soybeans or sesame after suffering significant losses, alleging that duty-free rice imports worsened the market situation.
Another farmer, Garba Ubale Yanoko, said he recovered barely 15 per cent of his investment after harvest, forcing him to reconsider planting rice this dry season.
The committee linked the downturn to the Federal Government’s July 2024 approval of duty-free rice imports aimed at curbing food inflation. It warned that continued farmer exit could threaten national food security and recommended activating a guaranteed minimum price, closing import windows and providing targeted dry-season support.
Chairman of the Kano chapter of the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria, Abubakar Haruna Aliyu, confirmed the challenges, citing high input costs and declining paddy prices.
He disclosed that a new federal intervention scheme is being finalised and urged the government to include at least a 40 per cent subsidy to help farmers recover and return to production.