The National Agribusiness Policy Mechanism, a presidential policy committee, has revealed that about 3,500 rice farmers are set to abandon cultivation following losses estimated at N93bn across the sector during the 2025 wet season. Applied to the survey sample, this translates to approximately 3,500 farmers planning to exit or reduce rice cultivation. According to the committee, rice farmers recorded losses of N20,220 per hectare during the 2025 wet season. The committee noted that 23 per cent of rice farmers planned to switch to soybeans or sesame due to declining rice prices driven by import pressure. Rice farmers had earlier raised the alarm over the collapse of Nigeria’s rice industry, attributing the shutdown of local mills and mass job losses to cheap imports, insecurity, and lack of government support.

Source: Punch February 01, 2026 07:02 UTC