How to Price Your Agricultural Products Competitively

Pricing is where most smallholder farmers leave money on the table. The default approach — sell at whatever the local buyer offers — ignores the real cost of production and the true market price. A structured pricing approach can add tens of thousands of naira to your income each season without changing anything else on the farm.

Calculate Your Cost of Production First

Before setting a price, know what it costs you to produce one kilogram or one bag. Add up:

• Seed or planting material
• Fertiliser and agrochemicals
• Labour (including your own time at a fair daily rate)
• Transport to market
• Storage costs if you are holding inventory

Divide the total by your expected yield. That is your break-even price. Never sell below it.

Research Current Market Prices

Check prices on AgroMarket NG and in at least two physical markets before selling. Prices for the same commodity can vary by 30–50 percent between a rural collection point and a city wholesale market. If the price difference exceeds your transport cost, move the product yourself.

Time Your Sales

Prices for most staples in Nigeria follow a predictable seasonal pattern. Maize, for example, is cheapest at harvest (September–October) and most expensive before the new harvest (June–August). Farmers with storage can capture a significant premium simply by waiting two to three months.

Grade and Present Your Product

Buyers pay more for clean, sorted, uniformly sized produce. Investing an extra hour to remove damaged items and present your goods in consistent bags or crates can increase your selling price by 10–15 percent on the same commodity.

Negotiate in Writing

For bulk sales, get the agreed price and quantity in writing — even a WhatsApp message counts. Verbal agreements are frequently revised downward at delivery, especially when buyers know a farmer is under pressure to sell quickly.

List on AgroMarket NG

Listing your surplus on AgroMarket NG exposes it to buyers beyond your immediate geography. A buyer in Lagos seeing your Borno State groundnuts may offer a price no local intermediary would match.