Tomato crisis is looming as farmers lose N1.3 billion and 300 hectares of farmland to disease.
Tomato scarcity appears to be coming in Nigeria as farmers battle Tuta Absoluta, also known as Tomato Ebola, which is now devastating tomato plants in areas of the country and causing farmers to lose up to N1.3 billion.
Tuta Absoluta is an insect that makes its habitat beneath tomato leaves.
According to Vanguard, the Secretary-General of the National Tomato Growers, Processors, and Marketers Association of Nigeria, Sani Danladi, revealed this during a recent event in Abuja. He bemoaned the massive losses suffered by over 500 farmers in Kano, while it is unknown how many farmers are affected in Katsina, Jigawa, Kaduna, and Gombe.
“This ‘war’ affects all Nigerians, not just the government and farmers.” When Tuta Absoluta visits a farmer’s farm, it destroys everything in three days, no matter how large or tiny. It is extremely damaging since it ruins all agriculture investment. The cost of investing in one hectare of farmland to produce tomatoes is not less than N1.7 million. Farmers lose a significant amount of money each year that this sickness emerges. It does not happen early in the season, but rather when the temperature increases to high levels, which is why some farmers are hesitant to do late tomato transplanting. Tomatoes are quite inexpensive in Nigeria from January to March, but they become very rare from April onwards because farmers are worried of late transplanting.
This year, the devastation is quite severe since we had poor productivity and the disease came and devoured all that the farmers had produced, which is why we have come out to scream and remind the government and Nigerians that on this subject, we must adopt a holistic approach to provide solutions.
We have informed the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, NABG, and other stakeholders on ways to curb the spread of this disease, as we are concerned that it would spread to other states. This year, more than 300 hectares have been destroyed by this disease, which has affected over 500 farmers not only in Kano State, but also in Kaduna, Katsina, Jigawa, and Gombe States, and we are still collecting data from the remaining states, which is why tomato is currently in short supply.
Tuta Absoluta has destroyed 90 percent of the tomato crop in Kano. It is not like caterpillars, but it is really dangerous since you cannot eat it because it is harmful to human health.”he stated
