“Many people did not farm rice this year because of what happened last year. And what happened has started happening this year again.”
In 2024, Abu Ibrahim raised one million naira and invested it in rice farming in the Orun-Igbemo community of Ekiti State, Nigeria. The community is famous for producing ‘Ofada’ rice, also called ‘Igbemo’ rice.
“I planted two hectares. We expected rain in April, but it didn’t come until the following month. Then it rained once and stopped for over 15 days,” the 28-year-old Mr Ibrahim recalled. “The rice spoiled under the ground, and there was nothing to harvest.”
In May, PREMIUM TIMES visited several rice farms in Igbemo, Aisegba, Ijan and Orun. Many farmers who spoke with our reporter in the communities said that long dry spells, followed by torrential rains and floods, affected their cultivation and harvests during the 2023, 2024, and 2025 farming seasons.
“Many people did not farm rice this year because of what happened last year. And what happened has started happening this year again.” Isiaka Tajudeen, another rice farmer, said, citing another delay in rainfall.
Ekiti ranks only behind Ogun State in the production of Ofada rice in Nigeria. Farmers across 10 local government areas in the state plant upland or swamp rice, also known as lowland rice.
Upland farming relies on rain.
“We normally do bush clearing from December to March. Between the end of the month and April, we spray chemicals and start planting,” Mr Tajudeen explained the traditional farming cycle.
However, this pattern has been altered. Farmers now delay planting until rainfall begins, mostly in May or June. This year, rains began in the area in May.
“Those who planted earlier have run into loss; their seeds were eaten by birds, and that is due to the absence of rain,” Mr Tajudeen said.
The persistent dry spell has established a long cycle of declining yield for the farmers. They recalled that over a decade ago, the rains predictably arrived in February or March and lasted longer. Then, the harvest was abundant. A hectare yielded 11 to 13 bags of rice, while two hectares gave 20 to 25 bags, a farmer recalled.
Mr Tajudeen said he planted two hectares last year but harvested “only eight bags.” He said many of his peers in the area did not harvest as much.
“This year, I planted with faith in God, because this is the only means I have to take care of my wife and four children,” he added.
The chairperson of Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN) in Ekiti State, who is also the national youth leader of Farmers in Nigeria, Tunde Adeyemi, corroborated Mr Tajudeen’s claims.
“I used to cultivate 60 to 70 hectares, but I have scaled down to just seven or eight hectares,” Mr Adeyemi said.
He said he used to spend N150,000 to cultivate a hectare, but now needs N600,000 to N700,000. He said a hectare yields about two-and-a-half to three tonnes, with a tonne selling for N120,000 to N130,000. “Do the math,” he said. “I had to diversify into other crops just to feed my family.”
During the visits, PREMIUM TIMES observed a clear shift toward maize and cassava cultivation on many farms, a trend corroborated by academic research.
“I planted over two hectares of maize, while keeping just a single hectare for rice,” Mr Ibrahim told PREMIUM TIMES at his farm.
While farmers like Messrs Ibrahim and Adeyemi are exposed to the impact of climate change, government policies designed to protect them seem increasingly disconnected from their realities of the field.
In 2025, the Ekiti State Government said it insured 10,000 farmers in its Area Yield Insurance Cover scheme.
According to the state’s Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Ebenezer Boluwade, the scheme was designed to protect farmers against unforeseen risks and climate-related issues following the huge losses they suffered in previous years.
The protective policy is structured under an insurance policy with Leadway Insurance, and PULA Advisors as underwriters.
It is part of the broader national “Africa 10 Million Climate-Resilient Farmers Initiative,” coordinated by the Office of the Vice President and the Presidential Food Systems Coordinating Unit (PFSCU).
The Ekiti State Government said it provided 50 per cent counterpart funding for the project.
However, farmers in communities visited told PREMIUM TIMES that they had never heard about this scheme.
The RIFAN chairman was also unaware of it.
“I have never heard of such,” he said.
However, the commissioner, Mr Boluwade, said the scheme involved farmers who benefited from the administration’s previous interventions.
“Let me put the records straight. We insured about 7,000 farmers, and were the first state in Nigeria to pay the premium. Priority was accorded to farmers who benefited from any of our production interventions like the free land clearing for clusters, 50 per cent subsidy on mechanisation, seeds, agrochemicals and fertiliser.”
The commissioner also explained that the insurance covers rice and cassava farmers.
