The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has named Yobe State the most affordable place to live and travel from in Nigeria.
According to report obtained by The News Chronicle, the bureau’s July 2025 report, Yobe’s cost of living has dropped due to a decline in inflation. The state’s inflation rate fell from 13.5% to 11.43%, while food inflation also went down from 17.9% in June to 15.1% in July.
The report credited the improvement to the State’s Agricultural Empowerment Programme (SAEP), which has supported more than 5,300 farmers. The programme boosted food supply by pushing last year’s harvests into the market, helping reduce prices.
Launched by Vice President Kashim Shettima alongside Governor Mai Mala Buni, the scheme has also attracted many young people and women into farming, improving food security and creating jobs.
So far, farmers have reinvested their earnings into the new cropping season, especially in irrigation projects along the Kumadugu/Yobe River Basins, covering Bade, Geidam, Bursari, and Nguru wetlands.
Through the initiative, farmers received tractors, harvesters, disc ploughs, harrows, land tillers, fertilisers, solar-powered irrigation pumps, and pesticides.
The NBS noted that Yobe’s agricultural focus has helped reduce living costs, strengthen food security, and support economic growth in the state.
