By Patricia Amogu/ Adesewa George
Mr Oyeleke Bola, National President, Tomato and Orchard Producers Association of Nigeria (TOPAN), says low harvests due to the rains and rising production costs are responsible for the current high costs of tomato in Nigeria.
Bola disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Abuja.
He explained that the costs, which included pest control, fertilisers, and sustainability gaps ,were the factors affecting tomato production.
He noted that as a result of these factors, Nigerians are recording seasonal rise in the price of the produce especially since the rainy season.
Bola also attributed sharp increase in the prices of seeds and other farm inputs, in addition to rising logistics costs and severe pest infestations among the challenges.
“Before now, cultivating one hectare of tomatoes could cost about N300,000, but today the cost had increased to nearly N2.5 million, a development that had significantly reduced production and kept many small holder farmers off cultivation this year.
“Many farmers cannot afford the current cost of production ,the few farmers who managed to cultivate also had to contend with heavy pest attacks during the rainy season, leading to low harvests and inadequate supply to meet market demands,” he said.
He explained that the combination of these reduced outputs in the face of increasing demands which invariably resulted in higher prices for the item nationwide.
” In addition, transportation costs also compounded the situation.
“Moving the item from major producing states to consumer markets had became more expensive due to poor road conditions, traffic delays and the general rise in logistics costs.
“While seasonal tomato shortages had become a recurring challenge, a coordinated response by government and the private sector could help address the problem,” he said.
He called for increased investment in the production of quality seeds, fertiliser supply, pest management, storage infrastructure and agricultural data systems to improve production(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Francis Onyeukwu