Concerns about the price of beans, a crucial source of nutrition for Lagos residents, have been voiced.
They pleaded with the governments to step in, saying the steady increase in bean prices this year had become intolerable.
In interviews conducted on Sunday in Lagos, the locals talked to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
According to NAN, a 100kg bag of beans that sold for N55,000 at the start of the year now sells for N230,000, while a 40kg bag that cost for N26,000 in January now sells for N115,000.
Due of this, many of the locals were no longer able to afford the basic food.
Mother of four Mrs. Uloma Chigozirim of Santos Estate, Akowonjo, expressed concern that her children could go hungry as a result of the sharp rise in bean prices.
The cheapest food was once beans; we have no idea why this has changed.
“Even traders are unable to explain the reason for the hike; the price keeps going up every other week,” the woman claimed.
Mr. Uche Ikenga, a bean farmer in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, hinted at the potential cause of the increase in produce prices by pointing out that the crop was not an all-season one.
It is cultivated because it has the time. Bean harvests often reach their peak around the end of the year. Then, there will be an adequate quantity of produce to meet the rising demand.
But some cattle forage everywhere for food around harvest time.
Many farmers lost their harvest the previous year as a result of the foraging cows devouring their bean crops.
Ikenga stated, “The low harvest last year is the reason for this year’s scarcity and high cost of produce.”
According to Mr. Ahmed Yusuf, a merchant of beans at the Ile-Epo Market’s Dry Foodstuff Section in Agege, beans might not be out of stock in the upcoming months.
We used to sell a little bucket of beans for N6,500 every two weeks, but now the same amount goes for N8,000.
Every day, the price soars, and we sell as we purchase. The price volatility has caused us to stop keeping it.
“Because the produce is unavailable, we are not even sure if we will have beans to sell by this time next month,” he stated.