Farmers and agriculture sector players have decried the scorching impact of the recent increment in pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), otherwise called Petrol, lamenting that they are already running into losses due to the unbearable rise in cost and lack of patronage.
The President, Tilapia Aquaculture Developers Association, Nigeria (TADAN), Remi Ahmed, while speaking with journalists, pointed out that farmers have been battling with high costs of production before this period and that the current situation has made farming more difficult.
Recall that President Bola Tinubu, during his inauguration speech on May 29, 2023, as Nigeria’s 16th President, declared an end to the subsidy on petrol, leading to an increase in the price from N198/liter to an average of over N500/liter across the country.
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Ahmed bemoaned that the development had negatively affected farming activities because most fish production-related operations depend heavily on the usage of fuel as they need to pump water in and out of the pond.
He disclosed that despite the fact that they are dealing with a luxury product, tilapia, which is regarded as a big man’s food, buyers are no longer coming due to a slight increase in the price of the fish from the previous price of N2, 000 per kg to N3, 000 per kg, saying the price increase does not even cover much because the appropriate price for a kilogram should be N5, 000.
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Also speaking was the CEO/Founder, Pepperrest Farms Limited, Oluwatosin Johnson, who noted that a kilogram of colored bell peppers, previously selling between N1, 700 and N2, 000, now sells for between N2, 200 and N3, 000. He lamented that this has reduced consumers purchasing power, resulting in low demand.
