Some women, mostly rural farmers, say the rise in the price of garri, was due to the activities of cultists that drove them away from their homes the previous years.
They also said the late rains that affected their harvest had, in no small measure, helped in the rise of the price of the commodity.
According to some of the rural female farmers who spoke to The Tide from Ikwerre, Abua, Etche and others, female farmers bore the brunt of the violence as most of them, who went to their farms were raped tortured or kiddnapped.
Other traders attributed the hike in garri to lack of rain the farmers were forced to review the prices of the product upwards.
“We used to buy garri at the rate of N4000.00, but now they have added an additional sum, making it N4,800 and above”, one of our respondents said.
A garri seller, at the Mile Three market in Port Harcourt, Mrs Rose Eke, blamed the farmers for the increase.
“By this time of the year, garri used to be stable, but customers are complaining now that prices have increased.
“But when they want to hence buy rice they do not complain, no matter the price given to them but in the case of garri, people complain”, she said.
The Tide reports that a basin of garri, that was sold in most of the markets in Port Harcourt at N3000.00 now goes for between N4800 and N5000 while the cost of a bucket which sold for N500 now sells for N1000.00.
