Households in Rivers State have been lamenting the scarcity and attendant rise in the prices of foodstuff and meat following the strike by cattle and foodstuff dealers in the country.

Particularly affected by the scarcity and rise in price are beef, onions, tomatoes, potatoes and yam, most of which are supplied from northern Nigeria.

Hyancinth Okoye, a trader in foodstuff at Oil Mill Market, said a bag of onions, which cost N4,000 before the strike by the cattle dealers is now N20,000; a bag of tomatoes has moved up to N25,000 from N20,000, while pepper is now 20,000, up from N15,000.

He said fish is also affected in the scarcity and rising prices.

Umaru Ibrahim of the Foodstuff and Cattle Dealers’ union said the Federal Government has failed to address the complaints of the union, which he said included compensation for the losses their members suffered during the #endsars protests and the multiple taxation their members are exposed to in various local government areas as they transport their merchandise to the South.

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He said during the #endsars protests, 45 vehicles were burnt while 25 drivers and conductors were killed.

He said life of drivers and conductors of livestock trucks has become endangered as they are waylaid and killed in transit to the various markets in the south. “Villagers just block roads and kill our members and loot their goods,” Ibrahim said.

But Uba Adamu, leader of foodstuff and livestock dealers in Port Harcourt said they were talking with the state government to intervene in the crisis.

He also said government could begin to provide grants and extension services to farmers to begin to produce livestock and food locally to forestall this kind of crisis in future.