The value of garri, a preferred staple meals in Nigeria, has elevated by 108 per cent in three months, reaching a file excessive as cassava manufacturing shrinks nationwide
A survey by reporter in main markets within the Federal Capital Terrritory, FCT, reveals that the typical value of a 50kg bag of yellow garri surged by 108 per cent from a median of N18,000 in December 2023 to N37,500 in March 2024.
Equally, a 4-litre paint container measure of yellow garri now sells for a median of N2,500 as towards N1,200 offered in December 2023, whereas a 50kg bag of white garri sells at N35,000 as towards N17,000 offered in December 2023, indicating a 105 per cent enhance in value.
In response to knowledge from the Meals and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), Nigeria is the world’s largest producer and client of cassava and was projected to churn out 60.8 million metric tonnes of cassava in 2022.
The manufacturing of the tubers in 2023, in keeping with farmers, was hampered by the impression of local weather change, worsening insecurity and the uncertainty round final 12 months’s elections.
Reacting to the event, Segun Adewumi, Nationwide President of Nigeria Cassava Growers Affiliation, NCGA, stated lots of farmers have been discouraged from cultivating the tubers final 12 months owing to uncertainty surrounding the 2023 elections.
“The uncertainty and potential disruption through the change in authorities discouraged farmers from cultivating cassava as extensively as normal. That is what led to the manufacturing shortfall,” Adewumi stated.
reporter stories that garri is considered ‘poor man’s meals’ in Nigeria however with the current hike in the price of the commodity, like different meals objects, many Nigerians at the moment are discovering it tough to afford it.
In response to the Nationwide Bureau of Statistics, meals inflation elevated to 35.42 per cent in January 2024.
