Residents of Bauchi city have lamented the high cost of food, urging the government to address the state’s approaching food crisis.

According to a recent DAILY POST market survey in the state capital, both the poor and the wealthy are groaning under the pressure of expensive food.

Food vendors in the state now blame rising food prices on continuous instability and farmers’ trouble acquiring fertilizer due to its high cost.

According to the report, a bag of 100 measures (mudu) local rice costs N51,000, up from N37,000 previously.

A bag of the same staple containing 80 measures no go now costs N48,000, compared to N32,000 previously, and a mudu of local rice now costs between N550 and N600.

A bag of imported rice used to be between N24,000 and N26,000, whereas a mudu is currently between N900 and N1,000.

Previously, a mudu of imported rice was sold for N750-800.

A bag of beans now costs N70,000, up from N50,000 earlier, and a mudu of beans costs N700, up from N500 previously.

A 100-mudu bag of maize now sells for between N37,000 and N38,000. A mudu now sells for between N380 and N400, compared to N200 previously.

In the ‘evil forests,’ kidnappers and bandits demand food as payment.

Kg meat now costs N2,000. It used to be N1,200. A large piece of fish costs N500, while a little portion costs N200-400. A kilo of fish costs N1,800-2,000.

A container of spaghetti now costs N4,000 instead of N3,500.

Despite being in season, a bag of Irish potatoes costs N14,000 currently.

Sweet potatoes are now sold at N15, 000 a bag, up from N9, 000 previously, and yam tubers are now sold between N800 and N1,000, up from N200 or N300 previously.

A basket of tomatoes now sells for N10,000, up from N6,000, and a bag of pepper for N20,000. Gold-colored onions are now N15,000 per bag.

A crate of eggs that used to cost between N800 and N900 now costs between N1,500 and N1,600.

25-liter palm oil currently costs N21,000, while a bottle costs N600. A bottle of groundnut oil costs N850-900, and a 25-liter jerry can cost N26,000.

Sale Boko, Deputy Chairman, Bauchi State Foodstuffs Marketers, acknowledged that many households can no longer afford to feed three times a day due to rising food prices.

He urged President Muhammadu Buhari and the Bauchi state governor, Senator Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed, to act quickly to address the issue.

“High cost of fertilizers will undoubtedly increase to the cost of food items after farming,” Boko asserted. Farmers cannot grow without economical fertilizers, and so food cannot be offered at low prices.

Many farmers are unable to farm due to the high cost of fertilizers, and food prices will undoubtedly rise across the country.

He stated that while insecurity in the North prevents farmers from going to their farms or harvesting what they have previously sown, people carrying food goods like palm oil from the South are scared to come to the North owing to the security situation.

He warned that unless the government intervenes swiftly, the country may face a food crisis by the conclusion of the crop season.