Prioritize Agric Value Chains – AFAN President

The President of All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Architect Kabiru Ibrahim, has urged the Federal Government to prioritise Agriculture Value Chain and revisit some of the existing policies to make agriculture work properly in the Country.

 

Architect Ibrahim who disclosed this recently during a chat with newsmen said that if the Growth Empowerment Scheme (GES) had been expanded to reach every farmer, they would have been agitating for it.

“From the records that were given out by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, about 14.5 million farmers were captured. But you know we have farmers in excess of that in Nigeria. This means that they captured political farmers, AFAN was not involved” He noted.

According to the AFAN President, the GES is a good policy, however it should be segregated. “It doesn’t make sense to give two bags of fertilizer and 12.5kg of seeds to every farmer. Farmers’ needs should be assessed. With the concern of this government for agriculture, I believe the policy would be sustained”.

Architect Ibrahim noted that for proper development of various crops and livestock across the Country, the Agricultural Value Chains should be prioritized.

He therefore called on President Muhammadu Buhari to appoint a minister that has the passion for agriculture and accommodates the views of other stakeholders so that the sector can be properly positioned, adding that the present administration should restore the dignity of agriculture as promised to Nigerians.

NIFOR Warns Against Palm Oil Adulteration

Nigeria Institute for Oil Palm Research (NIFOR)

The Director of Research, Nigeria Institute for Oil Palm Research (NIFOR), Dr Celestine Ikuenobe, has warned against the adulteration of palm oil.

Ikuenobe, who gave the warning in Calabar, the Cross River State capital at a workshop for palm oil farmers, said adulteration is risky to consumers.

The director decried the adulteration of palm oil with chemicals used in dyeing of clothes, saying it is unsafe for human consumption.

He said that unless such unwholesome practices were checked, a major health disaster might occur in the country.

According to him, the adulteration is not only in palm oil, but also in palm seedlings sold to farmers.
“The palm oil supplied to the Nigerian markets and the Diaspora is often adulterated with dye chemicals, which make such oil unsafe for human consumption.

“This act is unacceptable and unless something drastic is done, a health disaster might result in the country.

“Because of the low palm oil production in the country, we contribute nothing to the international global palm oil supply and all these factors are responsible for the low palm oil production in the country”, he said.

Ikuenobe called on farmers not to patronise people who offered them seedlings at a cheaper price but should instead, buy from the ministry of agriculture in the States.

He urged Cooperative Societies, farmers and growers, to interface with Solidarity the states’ ministry of agriculture, to access loan and learn best production practices to enhance their oil production.

FG Challenges Local Fabricators on Agricultural Equipment

Arc Sonny Echono, Permanent Secretary FMARD

The Federal Government has challenged local fabricators to come up with locally fabricated agricultural equipment and machinery to promote indigenous technology.

Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Development (FMARD), Arc. Sonny Echono made this call recently during a meeting with members of the Tractors Owners and Operators Association of Nigeria (TOOAN) at the ministry’s headquarters in Abuja.

Echono stated that the government was interested in benefits to be derived from mechanization, hence the need for additional 60 Agricultural Equipment Hiring Enterprises (AEHEs). He said the benefits must include increased land under cultivation; improved yield and productivity, reduction in the amount of labour used and creation of jobs for the youths in the agricultural sector.

He further explained that the mechanization programme was structured towards increasing the mechanization facilities in the country with 15% local content of tractors accessories to be achieved within three years and assured of his ministry’s readiness to partner with the association.

He approved the request of TOOAN for the release of tractors for four centres namely: Kebbi, Niger, Nasarawa and Oyo states; while imploring the association to prepare their members for a special training at no cost to TOOAN since the next phase of the mechanization programme would involve tracking of equipment before release.

Earlier in his remark, the National President, Tractor Owners and Operators Association of Nigeria (TOOAN), Engr. Bitrus Elesha said the association has the technical capacity to provide land clearing, seed planting, chemical application and harvesting services if supported with machinery and equipment.

Elesha commended the Federal Government’s sustainable mechanization intervention programme, saying “mechanization service providers never had it so good; the programme should please be sustained.”

The TOOAN President however advised that successful and sustainable agricultural mechanization cannot be achieved through continued importation of farm machineries. He also called for indigenous manufacturing of farm machinery suitable for Nigerian crops and soil condition.

He solicited for the continued partnership between TOOAN and FMARD.

Zim’s fall from agricultural grace

Zimbabwe,once the bread basket of Africa, needs a land audit says the writer to ensure that the country s agricultural sector gets back on track. Picture: Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi

How is it that a country once the bread basket of Africa is now begging for maize and wheat, asks Welshman Ncube.
 
Harare - Those of us who grew up in Rhodesia knew from an early age that the foundational pillars of the strength of the Rhodesian economy lay in agriculture, mining and manufacturing.

So strong was Rhodesia’s agriculture, whatever could be said of its racist outlook in respect of land ownership and control that I, just like most middle-aged Zimbabweans, grew up on a generous diet of state “propaganda” that our country “is the bread basket of Africa”.

Thus both in Rhodesia and the first one and a half decades of independence, we took it for granted that not only could we feed ourselves, but we could feed the region and to some extent the larger world.

Accordingly, in 1980, the late former president of Tanzania Julius Nyerere said to then-prime minister Robert Mugabe: “You have inherited the jewel of Africa, please take care not to spoil it.”
Spoil it he has.

The truth is that Rhodesia and the “early part” of Zimbabwe produced millions of tons of grain and horticulture products. Even during the worst droughts, our silos would carry enough grain reserves to take us through to the next rainy season. The country boasted of hard-working rural citizens routinely accorded “Master Farmer” status, with critical knowledge imparted by committed agriculture extension officers.

How is it that a country once famous for exporting excess grain to the region is now begging for maize and wheat from Zambia, Malawi and South Africa?

Who is culpable for this spectacular fall from agricultural grace?
Why is there now so much more agricultural disequilibrium than ever before?
The answers are embedded in one word: climate – both atmospheric and political.

Irrefutable evidence exists that the atmospheric climate I grew up under in the 1960s and 1970s has drastically changed – for the worse. Climate researchers in various government departments have proof that Zimbabwe’s rainy seasons are now shorter with longer dry spells.

The political and governance climate like the atmospheric climate is also a cause of food insecurity in Zimbabwe.

For all his political transgressions, Ian Smith and his Rhodesia Front had mastered the art of food production.
The colonialists had demarcated our country into three distinct agricultural regions – rural, small holder and commercial farming areas. It is true that our parents, though classified as peasants, produced enough maize to diligently deliver to the nearest government silos.

But our country’s breadbasket status was secured by more organised, intensive, title-supported, bankable, irrigation-based commercial farming. In fact, economists agreed that the strength of Zimbabwe’s gross domestic product (GDP) lay in the country’s agro-based industry.

Factories, engineering companies, retailers and banking services relied heavily on the value chain of agriculture.

President Mugabe and his Zanu-PF party had been content in the comfort of disputed land tenure as their political hegemony was virtually uncontested. As long as industrialists and commercial farmers did not interfere with Zanu-PF’s political dominance, the property rights scene and political temperature remained stable. But all that changed when the MDC came into the political arena.

However, how did this affect Zimbabwe’s breadbasket status? That the land ownership and control structure patterns that existed up to 2000 were unsustainable, unfair and unjust is incontestable. That justice and fairness needed to be brought to bear thereon is equally indisputable. At some point, and through some policy process and intervention, commercial agriculture had to be democratised.

What I have always contested is the crude methodology, warped logic and vindictive nature of Mugabe’s fast-track land reform programme from 2000 which obliterated the agricultural sector.

This is why Zimbabwe can no longer cope with the negative effects of climate change.
Millions of peasant farmers resettled in previously title-secure commercial farms, received virtually no meaningful support to become successful farmers. Some had no skills or resources to produce grain. Five thousand white commercial farmers who were rendered homeless, abandoned agriculture and left for other countries – with their skills.

Their unpaid farming debts crippled the banking sector. Fertiliser and tractor companies heavily dependent on the agriculture value chain were liquidated, so were engineering companies.

The collapse of agricultural production in a country whose manufacturing sector was/is essentially founded on agri-based industries inevitably led to the collapse of manufacturing. In one stroke, two of the pillars of the country’s economy were mortally wounded by the actions of Zanu-PF.

Today, as you read this; former white Zimbabwean citizens expelled by Mugabe are performing farming wonders in Zambia, Mozambique, Malawi and Nigeria.

What these countries have in common is their respect for property rights.
This year, Zimbabwe will have to import almost 1 million tons of grain from some of those countries because we can no longer produce 3 million tons to feed ourselves. Of course, Zanu-PF propaganda blames climate change and “Western sanctions”, but why has climate change not affected Zambia?

Mugabe has already travelled many times around the world, costing our treasury well over $60 million (nearly R835m). His ministers and their officials still drive the latest “Western cars”.
Zimbabweans import $54 billion (worth of) goods every year. Members of Zanu-PF send their children to colleges overseas.

Sanctions, what sanctions?
 
Maize production has fallen from a peak of 2 million tons in 2000 to just over 500 000 tons last year; wheat from a peak of just over 300 000 tons in 2001 to less than 10 000 tons last year; coffee from 10 000 tons in 1998 to nearly 1 000 tons last year; beef from a peak of just under 160 000 tons in 1991 to nearly 25 000 tons by last year; milk from a peak of 250 million litres in 1991 to about 50 million litres by last year. As a result, the country’s food imports multiplied almost seven-fold between 2000 and now, although pre-2000 tobacco production has been restored in the last three years.

There was need to redress the situation where 15 million arable hectares were in a few hands. The MDC does not agree with land reform which removes the right to due process, negates constitutionalism and legality, abandons rule of law principles and is implemented in a manner that negates the right to work and effectively renders jobless previously employed citizens.

This is the picture of “land reform” as implemented from 2000. The result: Zimbabwe’s isolation; a drastic decline of our agricultural output; 2 million citizens under constant threat of starvation; an annual $700m food import bill; 300 000 unemployed former farmworkers; 5 000 white citizens deprived of their property under a law which abrogated due process; massive deforestation in former commercial farms; a 90 percent increase in wildlife poaching; a 60 percent collapse of agro-based industries and related job losses pointing towards 90 percent formal unemployment; millions of children displaced from “proper” rural to makeshift farm schools.

Zimbabwe needs a full land audit to rationalise land tenural systems, land use, expose corruption in allocation and ensure justice in land acquisition

Institute Warns Against Outbreak of Cassava Killer-Disease

cassava killer disease

National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI), Umudike, Abia State has warned against the outbreak of the deadly Cassava Brown Streak Disease (CBSD).

It gave the warning during the launch of WAVE Project, a campaign against the dreaded CBSD in Umudike, Abia State, attended by agricultural researchers from Ivory Cost, Benin Republic, Burkina Faso, Togo and Ghana.

The institute advised the Federal Government to arrest the situation, saying the disease could affect the economy if not checked on time. It warned that the outbreak of CBSD, which attacks mainly cassava, could cost the economy about 400 billion Naira ($2 billion) yearly.

National Root Crops Research Institute said it based its loss assessment on the effect the disease had in countries it had attacked, stressing that those who do not learn from history plans to fail.

NRCRI said the crop disease has not reached Nigeria or any West African countries. “There was great need to prepare against it as it is already having devastating effect in some East African nations like Kenya,”it said.

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has commenced measures with 3.6 million dollars for research and campaign against CBSD and the fund is domiciled with the University of Felix Houphouet-Boigny in Ivory Coast.

The institute said as an institution with a national mandate for cassava research and development, it was taking a pre-emptive initiative to tackle the CBSD threat in Nigeria.

This, it said, is because its effect could result in complete loss of root yield in cassava thus making it a severe threat to food security in the sub-Saharan Africa.

It said “With symptoms like folia necrosis, stem lesions and root necrosis, it has since emerged as the one of the two most important diseases of cassava, the other being the cassava mosaic diseases”.

NRCRI warned that a CBSD attack would affect Nigeria’s position as the world’s largest cassava production, saying it will not be good to the food production level of the country and also affect its economy.
It continued: “CBSD used to be confined mainly to coastal areas of eastern and southern Africa, but in the past few years it has become substantially more virulent and begun spreading across the continent.”

In his address, the Executive Director of the Institute, Dr. Julius Okonkwo, noted the importance of the WAVE project, saying that it would help to save the continent from serious embarrassment.

He noted that the institute has made tremendous progress in developing value added products in cassava bread, cakes, donuts, chin-chin, ginger drinks, ginger powder, cocoyam chips and soup thickener.

Launching the project, Abia State Governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, represented by the Secretary to State Government, Dr. Eme Okoro praised the project, saying that it fits into the government programme of interest in agriculture.

He also praised the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for initiating the research to take proactive position against the dreaded crop disease.

Nigerian Cashew Processors Operating Below Installed Capacity

Cashew

The Publicity Secretary of the National Cashew Association of Nigeria (NCAN), Mr Sotonye Anga has disclosed that Nigerian cashew processors are operating below 30 per cent of the combined installed capacity of 48,000 tonnes.

Mr. Anga, who disclosed this to newsmen during an interview session in Lagos, attributed the decline to the high cost of procuring raw cashew nuts, among other factors.

The scribe said that cashew nuts now sell between N170, 000 and N200, 000 per ton, adding this has contributed to massive job loss and closing down of some processing plants.

“In the 2015 cashew season alone, many cashew processors in Nigeria operated below 30 per cent of a combined installed capacity of 48,000 tonnes due to high cost of raw nuts, sell between N170, 000 and N200, 000 per ton.

“High cost of doing business and zero incentive, all these put together led to massive job loss and cashew factory shutdown in the country. Cashew processors, at the moment, are endangered and there is the need to protect and strengthen them,’’ Anga said.

He remarked that the sub-sector needed government’s support that would encourage competitiveness among the cashew processors.

According to Mr. Anga, cashew processors are demanding N50, 960 ($260) per ton investment incentive to strengthen the sub-sector in Nigeria.

“Strengthening cashew processing in Nigeria is a step that will contribute to the nation’s economic development. We call on the Nigerian Government to approve an investment incentive of $260 per ton for cashew processing in Nigeria.

“We need to understand that cashew farmers need guaranteed markets to remain in business. Whenever a cashew processor processes a metric ton of raw cashew, it translates to over 200 jobs’’.

“In Nigeria, more than 70 per cent of workers in cashew processing facilities are women, who are trained to de-shell the cashew. They also delicately peel and pack the cashew kernels and get them ready for the export markets,’’ he said.

According to him, the country presently has seven cashew processing plants, these are Olam, Foodpro, Esteema Diamond, Abod success, KD Foods, ACET Nigeria and Valency and they are members of the NCAN.

He added that the association had privately invested N12 billion into cashew processing in Kwara, Kaduna, Ogun and Lagos.

Mr. Anga said that cashew processors were selling to the same markets, hence the need for government to protect cashew processors and make them better competitors globally.

“Irrespective of where you process your cashew from, we all sell under the same price regime and to the same markets in United Kingdom, Netherlands and Germany, United States of America, Canada, Australia, United Arab Emirate, Saudi Arabia, Japan, and most recently China. So, the countries that offer the best investment incentives, to cashew processors, rule in the cashew world,’’ he said.

The secretary said that Nigeria was presently producing 144,000 metric tonnes of raw cashew nuts.
“This means that available raw nuts for cashew processors still has one of the highest processing cost at N101, 920 ($520) per ton. This is without investment incentives from the government.

The government of Mozambique gives N24, 696 ($126) per ton investment incentive for cashew processing while India gives N16, 268 ($83) per ton. This brings cost of processing cashew to N52, 528 ($268) per ton in Mozambique, N49, 784 ($254) per ton in India and N42, 532 ($217) per ton in Vietnam,” Anga said.
He, therefore, appealed for government’s support and intervention in cashew processing in order to attract more investors.

Enugu Registers 22, 000 Rice Farmers

FADAMA 111 AF

FADAMA State Implementation Committee in Enugu State has registered over 22, 000 rice farmers.
State Coordinator, Ikechukwu Jude explained that though FADAMA III Additional Financing targets 5, 000 farmers for 5, 000 hectares of land for rice cultivation, the high number of registered farmers was due to the new reality of dwindling oil revenue that was making more people divert into agriculture.

He hoped that those who may not be captured by FADAMA III AF will be engaged by other state projects. “Before the end of the project in 2017, we are looking at about 30, 000 farmers to be engaged either by FADAMA III AF or by the state government.”

While the capacity of farmers is being developed in the state, the coordinator said the first and most important goal was to change the farmer’s orientation. “They must realize that farming is no longer development agriculture, but a business enterprise that must be diligently pursued”, he said.

Jude said the project would provide 50 per cent of the farmers needs as grants. This will include certified improved rice seeds, agro chemicals, fertilisers and other assets and infrastructure.

“The project has an approved six locations of seven installations for central pivot system of irrigation. That means farmers in that location will have over 350 hectares of land to be done three times a year, which means a cumulative 1, 050 hectares of rice farm in a year on that project alone.  A major off taker has also been contacted and assurance has been given to buy all the outputs, thereby resolving the issue of marketing,” he noted.

Govt Neglect Smallholder Farmers

Farmers

Stakeholders in agriculture have accused government of favoring big-time farmers, while neglecting smallholders.

They said governments at all levels grant multinationals and big organisations tax holidays on acquired land, leaving the small-scale growers to their own devices.

The stakeholders who gathered in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, included Actionaid, Centre for Community Empowerment and Poverty Eradication (CCEPE), the State government and Association of Smallholder Farmers of Nigeria.

Actionaid’s Food and Agriculture Advisor, Azubuike Nwokoye said government’s preference to big-time investors in agriculture is worrying and that in some instances government gives moratorium between 10 and 15 years with low bank interest rate to such investors, neglecting the small holder farmers.

Nwokoye said, “Smallholder farmers especially women farmers who produce the bulk of the food we consume in Nigeria are neglected. That is why we must put all hands on deck to protect them and we must also resist the rich from forcefully and illegally grabbing our land from us.”

Director, Kwara State Bureaus of Land, Muideen Abdulkadir said the bureau will assist organisations, associations and individuals in acquiring land for farming activities.

A woman farmer from Asa Local Government Area of the state, Iyabo Babatunde urged the state government to assist women in the state through provision of land and farm implements.
She said their plight is being compounded by the Fulani herdsmen whose cows invade their farmlands to graze thereby destroying their crops.

CCEPE Programme Officer, Abdulrahaman Ayuba presented the simplified versions of the United Nations voluntary guidelines on the responsible governance of tenure on land, fisheries and forests in the context of national food security.

The guidelines contain rights of the farmers, states obligations to farmers, investors, judiciary, communities and agencies’ obligations and also stipulate that farmers have rights to hold and use land, fisheries and forests whether registered or not registered; farmers have the right to demand for justice; rights to be protected against eviction and rights to be informed of prior knowledge of any land deal.

States obligations include providing necessary laws to recognize, respect and protect people’s land rights, providing access to justice, prevent tenure disputes, seek free prior informed consent of all community members and provide equitable land valuation mechanisms and fair tax systems for land, fisheries and forestry.

To investors, UN guidelines stipulate disclosure at all times and in all settings, full information of their real investment and land use intentions, respect and recognise the land rights of all community members; seek agreement of all community members before any land contract is signed.

The guidelines also urge communities to know their rights and how to protect themselves against corrupt behaviours from others; should demand full compensation where their rights are lawfully or unlawfully violated; to provide and promote a conducive environment for negotiations and interactions with investors and the government; provide and apply all available dispute resolution systems and should not discriminate against women on issues that relate to use of land, fisheries and forests.

Judiciary’s obligations include application and enforcement of all laws to protect interest of farmers and other land rights holders; hear all cases without discrimination on basis of gender, ethnicity and religion and provision of prompt and efficient services without requesting for bribes.

SOYA BEANS: Opportunity in Supply and Commercial Usage Not Fully Tapped

Soya Beans

The Growing utilisation of soya bean in human food and animal feed industries has created domestic supply gap leaving massive opportunities for investments in production of the commodity.
Coordinator, Community of Agricultural Stakeholders of Nigeria (CASON), Sotonye Anga, stated few months ago that the demand for soya beans in Nigeria is about N300 billion.

Prices
According to Novus Agro Commodity September index report, the lowest price of a ton of soya bean currently goes for N130, 000 in Mutum Biyu market, Taraba State and the highest price is N216, 670 in Relief Market, Anambra State while it is sold for N150, 000 in popular Mile 12 Market in Lagos. Average price of a ton of the commodity computed from the price it is sold in nine major markets spread all over the country is N161, 149.

About six months ago, a ton of soya bean was sold for N135, 000 in Lagos and this was the average price for the different markets all over the country.

Demand
The fact that prices have gone up within these six months indicates that the demand gap estimated at N225 billion had still not been met adequately. This N225 billion demand gap is 75 percent of the total N300 billion soya bean market demands. Hitherto, Nigeria has been producing only 25 percent of its annual soya bean demand leaving a gap of about 75percent. Part of this demand gap is being met by importation but with scarce supply of foreign exchange, it is imperative that the country look more and more inwards for supply of commodities that can be produced domestically.

A Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Report on Grains Demand and Commodity Prices of 2013 had put industrial demand for soya bean seed at a total of about 2,270,700 tons.

About four months ago, Anga also confirmed the Global Alliance on Improved Nutrition (GAIN) report which put Nigeria’s current annual production of soya beans at about 500,000 to 600,000 metric tons (10million to 12million bags of 50kg). This is about 25percent of the 2, 270,700 in the CBN report. By computation, this indicates that domestic supply gap of about 1.5 million metric tons of soya beans (30 million bags of 50kg) worth N225 billion existed and even currently, this is yet to be met.

Production
According to various reports, Nigeria’s domestic production of soya beans is no doubt trending upwards, but there is still a shortfall in supply to demand due to heavy usage of the commodity by the livestock industry, especially the poultry industry and for human food formulations. Soya bean crushers in the country are operating below capacity and are unable to satisfy the growing demand for soya bean meal and oil.

Usage
The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in one of its reports says leading infant food manufacturers in the country use soya beans because of its high nutritional value. Soya bean is also processed into flour and its oil is used in local paint, cosmetics, and soap making industries.

Direct human consumption of soya beans and its usage as animal feeds are also very significant in Nigeria, especially among rural low-income groups that cannot really afford animal protein sources such as meat, fish and eggs.

Chief Executive Officer, Royal Farm Produce, Seyi Gbadamosi, affirmed that there is an all year round demand for soya bean. According to him, “after sorghum, soya bean is the most profitable grains to invest in, whether the investor wants to grow it or trade in it. Processing or reprocessing it for the industrial market is also highly profitable. In fact, the profit from processed soya beans is higher.”

Constraints
Despite this steady increase, domestic output continues to lag behind rising demand. Higher production is constrained by low yield levels resulting from the high cost of seeds and scarcity of superphosphate fertilizers. Average yield levels are approximately 1.2 metric tons per hectare. Soya beans are produced on smallholder farms, averaging no more than one hectare, as a result, it is non-mechanised. Therefore, investors that want to produce sufficient quantities would have to do mechanised farming.

Cultivation
In Nigeria soya bean cultivation starts in May/June with land clearing and harvesting normally occurs in late October through November every year. The crop is harvested three to four months after planting, depending on the time of sowing and seed variety. Benue state is the dominant soya bean producing area but several other states in the north, middle belt do produce soya bean. States in the Southwest and Southeast can also produce soya bean when rains have reduced significantly.

Other issues
Apart from industrial demand, the insurgency in the Northern States also contributed to the huge shortfall in domestic supply of soya bean. Though insurgency is receding, many of the displaced persons have not yet fully resettled to go back into massive production of the commodity.

TOMATO PRODUCTION: Kano Constitutes 12-Man Value Chain Development Committee

Tomatoes

In a bid to curb the waste of enormous tonnes of tomatoes being produced in Kano state and to encourage investment in its production, processing, marketing and export, the State Government has inaugurated a 12-Man Innovation Platform on Tomato Value Chain Development.

Inaugurating the committee, Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje stated that his government is determined to help the mainly agrarian population of the State to transit from subsistence to commercial agriculture for poverty reduction and rapid economic progress.

“Development indicators have shown that we must move from producing just what we can eat to exporting for economic development. We must harness our potential so that value would be added to the tomato production chain”, the governor stated.

He maintained that the government is encouraging Dangote Group, through its newly established tomato processing factory in Kano, to get the raw materials they need locally, thereby increasing the production capacity of farmers.

The 1,200 tonnes capacity per day factory would be producing fresh tomato paste for local consumption and export while about 40,000 farmers in the state would benefit from it through cooperative societies.

According to Governor Ganduje, the terms of reference of the Innovation Platform on Tomato Value Chain Development include, organizing tomato farmers into competent out-grower system that will sustain commercial tomato production and supply to processors, marketers and direct consumers in all seasons.

It is also mandated to enhance performance of tomato farmers by creating linkages amongst various actors in the tomato value chain that could improve access to inputs, services, information knowledge and markets as well as to improve coordination of activities of the various actors for establishment and sustainable management of tomato business joint ventures in Kano.

He added that it would also promote technical and institutional capacities of grassroots tomato production clusters for sustainable business and organizational management and control in addition to networking with tomato industries in emerging economies.

Responding, the chairman of the platform, Rabi’u Auwalu Yakasai promised to execute the mandate diligently and selflessly.

Kano, having one of the most advanced large-scale irrigation projects, is the hub of tomato production in Nigeria, which ranks as the second highest producer of tomatoes in Africa and 13th in the world.

However, despite the huge potential in tomato harvesting, being one of the world’s highly consumed vegetables, more than 50 per cent of the vegetable produced in the state in particular and other parts of the country in general is lost due to lack of preservation and humid weather condition exacerbated by poor marketing distribution and access to local and international markets.