Uyo residents decry high cost of food items

Residents of Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital have decried the high cost of food items being experienced in the city.

Checks have shown that the price of garri, a basic food item for many families has doubled since the beginning of the March and has shown no sign of any reverse

According to Idongesit Eka, a 25-year-old housewife, three “cups of garri now sells for N200 from four cups for N100 it sold late last year.”

Other food items including bread, milk and rice as well as yams have also recorded upward price changes while reports from other parts of the state have confirmed the high cost of food items.

while her income as a housewife has been static, her expenditure on food stuff has gone up by about 300 percent adding that it has never been this costly.

“Coping with the high cost of food items has become unbearable, it is the first time I am buying three cups of

Residents who spoke to Businessday could not offer explanations for the sudden increase in the price of food saying it is the first time the price of food items have almost tripled within few weeks.

Speaking in an interview, Godwin Udofia, an Uyo based lawyer said the high cost of food items should be a wake up call for the state government to formulate agricultural policies that would boost food production, encourage the young school leavers to make agriculture a source of income.

“The state government should get its acts together and ensure that production of basic foodstuff including garri becomes a priority, it should also ensure that mechanised farming is practised in the state.

He advised the Akwa Ibom government to embark on a sustainable agriculture programme to address the high cost of food items.

Akwa Ibom gets most of its food items from neighbouring Cross River State where women bring in garri for consumers in the state. Other food items like onions and yams come from the northern part of the country but in recent times, the cultivation of vegetables and tomatoes has received an added attention by farmers.