The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) has urged Nigeria to urgently adopt a clear, rules-based and market-friendly farm price stabilisation and farmer income protection framework.

 The CPPE founder, Dr Muda Yusuf, made the call in a statement on Sunday in Lagos.

 Mr Yusuf said the proposed framework must be transparent, fiscally sustainable and supportive of private enterprise participation.

He said a stable agricultural market would protect farmers, strengthen food security, reduce inflationary pressures, expand rural employment and improve Nigeria’s overall economic resilience.

According to him, the Federal Government’s recent food security strategy has produced troubling trade-offs and unintended consequences across the agricultural sector.

He noted that consumers welcomed falling food prices, while investors and producers suffered heavy losses from the collapse in prices of key commodities.

Mr Yusuf said, “The welfare gains from cheaper food have been profound and should be acknowledged. However, the cost to farmers and investors across the agricultural value chain is equally significant and cannot be ignored.”

Mr Yusuf said Nigeria needed a sustainable balance between affordable food for consumers and protected incomes for farmers and investors.

He warned that policies undermining confidence would discourage investment in agriculture, one of Nigeria’s most strategic and labour-intensive sectors.

He stressed policy recalibration to keep farmers productive, protect rural incomes and sustain investor confidence without compromising household food affordability.

Mr Yusuf attributed recent farm price collapses to emergency grain imports, alongside structural challenges such as harvest gluts, poor storage, weak logistics and limited processing capacity.

He said import surges in staples such as rice, maize and soybeans had dislocated agricultural investments, weakened incentives and undermined long-term food security.

“Although consumers welcome lower prices, long-term consequences include falling farmer incomes, declining production and renewed cycles of scarcity,” Mr Yusuf said.

He said the framework should prevent import-induced crashes, reduce harvest-time price collapse, discourage distress sales and protect farmer livelihoods.

Mr Yusuf called for price stabilisation tools, buffer stock reforms, improved storage, logistics investment, processing expansion, financing solutions and insurance mechanisms.

He urged federal and state governments, commodity exchanges, development financiers and private investors to collaborate in establishing the framework. (NAN)