Rising Agricultural Input Costs Threaten 2026 Farming Season Profitability For Smallholder Farmers In Federal Capital Territory

Rising costs of fertiliser and chemicals threaten FCT farmers' profits for the 2026 season as prices for NPK and urea surge across Abuja area councils.

By: AXL Media

Published: Apr 10, 2026, 3:25 AM EDT

Source: Information for this report was sourced from Daily Trust

Escalating Input Prices Strain Rural Cultivation Plans

As the 2026 farming season draws near, the agricultural community in the Federal Capital Territory is facing significant financial pressure due to the rising cost of essential materials. Farmers across various area councils have reported that the prices for fertiliser, chemical treatments, and basic equipment like sprayers have climbed steeply since the previous year. This inflationary trend is creating a major barrier for rural producers who are already struggling to recover from a prior season where low market prices for food resulted in minimal profits despite high yields.

Market Disparities In Fertiliser Procurement Costs

Specific cost data provided by farmers in the Kuje Area Council illustrates the severity of the price hikes. Malam Abdullahi Usman, who manages a five hectare farm in the Godoji community, noted that a bag of NPK fertiliser that sold for approximately N42,000 last year has now jumped to N56,000. Similarly, Urea fertiliser prices have ascended to roughly N48,000 per bag. These increases are forcing farmers to re-evaluate their cultivation strategies, as the cost of basic nutrients for their soil now accounts for a much larger portion of their operational budget.

Chemical And Equipment Inflation Impacts Smallholders

The price surge extends beyond soil additives to include necessary agro-chemicals and manual machinery. In the Kwali Area Council, farmers such as Mr. Barnabas Mathew have observed that the cost of a single litre of chemical has nearly doubled, rising from N4,500 to N8,000 within a single year. Furthermore, the price of manual sprayers has increased by 33 percent, moving from N9,000 to N12,000. These cumulative increases are particularly threatening to smallholder farmers who lack the capital reserves to absorb sudden shifts in the retail market.