By Awyetu Asabe Hope
Pepper farmers and traders across northern Nigeria are counting heavy losses following a sharp collapse in prices during the dry season.
Farmers who cultivated scotch bonnet and habanero peppers invested heavily in seeds, fertiliser, irrigation fuel, manure and pesticides, only for prices to crash from about N30,000 per bag to as low as N3,000–N7,000.
Alhaji Muhammed Sani Sulaiman, a farmer in Saminaka, Kaduna State, said he invested nearly N7 million but earned less than N200,000, describing the season as a double loss after poor returns from the previous wet season.
Another farmer, Haruna Idris, said many producers are in financial distress, with some selling assets or fleeing due to debt after failed investments.
Market stakeholders also confirmed the downturn. Ibrahim Abubakar Aminu, chairman of the Saminaka tomato market, said prices that reached up to N55,000 per bag last year have fallen drastically, while high transportation and irrigation costs continue to erode profits.
Traders reported dumping unsold peppers or selling at giveaway prices in distant markets like Lagos, worsening losses.
The crisis has been linked to overproduction, high input costs, weak market demand and poor distribution systems, leaving both farmers and traders struggling to recover their investments.
