Tag Archives: Tomato

Tomato farmers contain pest, flood Mile 12 market with supplies.

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There are strong indications that farmers may have successfully contained the menace of Tuta Absoluta, the pest which ravaged tomato farms across the country in 2015 and 2016.

This is because lorry loads of tomato have been arriving at the Mile 12 market in Lagos, a major tomato market, on a daily basis, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

A visit to the Mile 12 Market in Lagos on Friday, indicated that over 30 articulated trucks, loaded with fresh tomatoes, were off-loading their consignments inside the market, while more than 10 trucks were waiting on the road.

Mr Femi Odusanya, a consultant to Mile 12 Arewa Perishable Foodstuff Market Association, told NAN that tomato farmers had been able to combat the menace of the pest, Tuta Absoluta.

“Tomato farmers did not find it funny when the pest invaded their farms between 2015 and 2016.

“What you are witnessing today is an indication that farmers have been successful in fighting Tuta Absoluta infestation of tomato farms in places like Kaduna, Jos, Kano, Katsina and Zaira.

“They have been able to achieve this feat, in combination with Federal Ministry of Agriculture and agriculture research institutes.

“There has been some synergy, education and training for farmers and tomato sellers in markets on how to deal with Tuta Absoluta; they also received training on Good Handling Practices (GHP) at tomato farms.

“At least, a 40kg. raft basket of tomatoes now sells for between N1,500 and N 3,500.

“This is unlike the same period in 2016 when the same 40kg. raft basket sold as high as N45,000 because of inadequate tomato supplies because of the Tuta Absoluta plague,’’ he said.

Odusanya said that farmers were now having bumper harvests, adding that tomato sales had consequently increased.

He said that the tomato farms of the association in Katsina had also flourished, thereby boosting tomato supplies and sales.

He said that the Mile 12 Market also was a centre for off-takers who procured over 900,000 tonnes of tomato for distribution to other states in the South West geopolitical zone and countries like Benin Republic, Togo and Ghana.

Odusanya recalled that at the peak of the crisis in March 2016, when a 40kg. raft basket cost around N47,000, the traders decided to alleviate the consumers’ plight by importing tomato from neigbouring countries.

He said that the traders adopted the strategy so as to augment the shortfall in tomato production in the country and force down prices.

NAN reports that tomato farmers in Kano State alone lost over N2 billion to Tuta Absoluta in 2016.

 

Source: NAN

We shut tomato processing plant due to lack of forex, says Dangote official.

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Edwin Devakumar, a senior executive with Dangote Group, says the conglomerate had to shut down its tomato processing factory due to lack of foreign exchange for raw material import.

 

In an interview with Reuters, Devakumar, said the Dangote group has been cutting down its operations across board due to lack of necessary foreign exchange.

 

“Where the foreign exchange is not available, we are cutting down our operations. For example … we had a tomato-based processing plant, we have shut it down,” Devakumar said.

 

Abdulladir Kaita, managing director of the company, however disclosed that the plant, which is located Kadawa, Kura local government area of Kano state, would be returning to production in February 2017.

 

Kaita said that the company had to suspend production when most of the tomato farms in about five states were affected by a pest that destroyed all the tomato species.

 

“We expect that tomato farmers would have produced enough for the company to process, hence our decision to resume production in February,” he said.

 

According to him, many tomato farmers at the Kadawa, Kura, Garun-Malam and Hadeja-Jama’are irrigation sites are expected to produce enough for the company to process.

 

“We deliberately decided to resume production in February because we don’t want to create scarcity of the commodity,” Kaita said.

Tomato Farmers Collaborate To Boost Wheat Production In Sokoto – Chairman

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Alhaji Haruna Abubakar, Chairman, Tomato Farmers Association of Nigeria, Sokoto State Chapter, said his members would collaborate with wheat farmers to boost the production of the product in the state.
Abubakar made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Sokoto.
He said the state government’s determination and commitment to technologically improve wheat production in the state was the reason for the collaboration.
Hs said that the government is so much committed to improving agricultural production, as it had introduced modern wheat farming techniques.
“All our members have accepted to join hands with the association of wheat farmers to ensure the development of farming activities in the Sokoto.”
Abubakar thanked Gov. Aminu Tambuwal for supporting farmers in the state.

He assured the government of his members’ commitment to grow the sector for the overall development and growth of the nation’s economy.

He, therefore, urged members of the association to become role models to their counterparts in other states, by utilizing the opportunity provided by the state government to boost agriculture in the state.

Credit: NAN

Recession: Dangote threatens to stop tomato paste production

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Few days after Erisco Foods Limited threatened to shut down its tomato factory, Dangote Industries Limited yesterday disclosed plans to stop tomato paste production because of the harsh operating environment that gives advantage to imported production.

Group Vice President of Dangote Industries Limited, Alhaji Sani Dangote, disclosed that the group recently stopped tomato paste production because of the harsh operating environment that gives advantage to imported products.

He also said the company would not be able to pay farmers from whom they get the raw materials unless government did something urgently.

Although, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said it would not give dollars, Dangote noted that countries like China give their people huge support and waivers that allow them access to finance that they do not really feel the forex crunch being faced by their Nigerian competitors.

Dangote who spoke at the 2nd group meeting of the Zero Hunger Committee in Abuja, expressed dissatisfaction over the delay on the part of the ministries and agencies involved to address the issue of tomato importation.

The Chairman of Nigerian AgricBusiness Group (NABG) insisted that the only way out was for government to put in place a clear cut policy on tomato importation and local production, stressing: “We have bee n talking for the past one year and up till now there is no clear cut direction where the government is heading.”

He further said that the forex policy being implemented by the CBN has not stopped importers from making profit from importation instead it is the local industries that are recording losses.

According to him, forex was not the problem but establishing a policy that would restrict the importation of tomato.

“We are not looking for forex. We are only saying that government should put up a policy where we are producing tomato concentrate to those industries that are into packaging; we are not into retail packaging,” he said.

So, that about 30 of those retail companies in Nigeria that are importing would stop and buy from us and repackage into smaller sachets, tins and so on.

“If we are talking about importers and we are talking about local producers; there is no way we can have a common ground because they are looking at 100 per cent import and we are looking at 100 per cent local production.

Dangote, who stated that “some companies have opened industries in Ghana and other free zones under the disguise of ECOWAS and are importing”, was however, optimistic that President Muhammadu Buhari would key into the issue and find a lasting solution.

Recall that Erisco Foods Limited had indicated plans to shut down its tomato paste processing business in Nigeria owing to unfavourable operating climate which will lead to loss of about 1,500 jobs.