Nigeria: Why shortage of tomatoes persists in rainy season

Over the years, tomato production in Nigeria has been largely done through irrigation in most states of the north. Only a few could afford to grow the widely consumed fruit in greenhouses during the rain-fed season.

Kadawa irrigation valley in Kano State is home to the largest number of dry season producers. An appreciable number of the producers could also be found in Katsina, Kaduna, Sokoto, Jigawa and Plateau states, with pockets spread across other states.

However, many of these farmers do not have the facilities (like greenhouses or rain-fed varieties) to produce during the wet season as the local varieties are not suitable for rain-fed. This inexorably creates scarcity during the rainy (wet) season.

The dry season favours the local varieties because the nights are cooler as a result of lower mist in the air whereas growing the fruit in the wet season becomes difficult because heat is trapped in the moisture and the soil temperature is high making the varieties that farmers have difficult to cultivate.

Mira Mehta, the CEO of Tomato Jos Farming & Processing, a company currently involved in the production of tomato along Kangima Dam in Kaduna, said the company could not produce during the rain-fed season because of the cost involved.

Although the company uses a variety called E8400 from a US company called BHN, which is high-yielding, it is not suitable for the wet season; therefore for Mehta, their 500-hectare land will be used for maize during the wet season.

However, the introduction of heat-tolerant varieties and their availability, which is a significant development in the tomato industry, may change the story of perennial scarcity of the product during the rainy season.

Source: https://www.dailytrust.com.ng