Farmers who produced dry-season scotch bonnet and habanero peppers, as well as dealers who purchased the peppers in the North and moved them to markets in other parts of the country, lost a lot of money this year. Due to the decline in the prices of agricultural produce, those who farmed during the previous wet season and grain merchants in the agricultural sector are still suffering significant losses. Alhaji Muhammed Sani Sulaiman, a farmer from Saminaka in Kaduna State, told the Weekend Trust that many farmers who produced these pepper varieties this year did not profit from their efforts.

He said producers of scotch bonnet and habanero peppers spent a lot of money on seeds, fertilisers, irrigation fuel, chicken manure and pesticides but the prices of the spicy crop dropped below their expectations. “Like me, I invested almost N7 million in growing spicy peppers. I bought seeds, fertiliser, chicken manure and other things with this money.

The market was good when we initially started planting because we could sell a bag for up to N30,000, but eventually, it dropped to N3,000. We never received N200,000 for all the harvesting done on my farm. “In fact, farmers in the dry season have lost a lot of money this year—something they have never done before.

Additionally, majority of farmers took the commodities they grew during the wet season, sold them at a low price and invested in growing these peppers. It turned out that there were two failures: the first occurred during the wet season and the second occurred during the dry season,” he said. Another farmer, Haruna Idris, said the cost of a hot pepper bag began at N30,000 but the price later collapsed to N4,000.

He said it became evident that farmers’ earnings from the production of spicy peppers would be extremely low despite spending lots of money on production. “Pepper farmers are currently in a terrible predicament. I know people sold their lands and others sold their houses.

I also know someone who sold his car to invest in pepper cultivation, but all of them are counting heavy losses. “One of my friends spent N10 million but he only made N1 million. In fact, as I speak with you, many farmers who borrowed so much to cultivate the peppers fled their houses due to the pressure of repayment,” he told Weekend Trust.

Ibrahim Abubakar Aminu, the chairman of Saminaka Tomato Market, told our correspondent that the hot pepper business has been experiencing difficulties this year. The chairman said that last year, a bag was sold between N50,000 and N55,000. This year, however, a bag of these peppers costs between N5,000 and N7,000, adding that despite their low cost, they still lose money while loading the product into vehicles due to transit issues.

He said they had been losing money in this market since January. As the cost of irrigation production was so unrealistic, the farmers also abandoned the fields because they didn’t have enough money to buy petrol to irrigate the farms after looking at the market and selling their harvest. Sani Zubairu Garko, a businessman at the Saminaka tomato market, also said many connections had been lost in the business this year.

“Last year, the farmers got a lot of money from investment in pepper, so everyone came to farm, especially those who have done it before. Those who have never farmed it in the area also came into the cultivation. That’s why there was a lot of trouble in the markets.

That’s why, this year, many traders have lost a lot of money,” he said. Malam Ibrahim Zakariya Xan Kaduna, who is also a merchant at the tomato market Saminaka, said there had been trouble with the pepper business even before Christmas. “We took the pepper to Lagos and a bag was sold at N1,000.

We gave it away as gifts. We even disposed of it. Then we came back home and raised money to pay the car owners. “Up till now, there has not been any change.

We always hope for change, but we are still losing in this business. Some of us are in debt, some of us sold our assets to enter this business, and some of the farmers sold the crops they had grown in the rainy season and entered this business, but now the situation is dire,” he told the Weekend Trust.