Why we shutdown Dangote tomatoes plant, by MD

Dangote tomato processing plant in Kano was shut down due to lack of governmental support for tomato farmers, Managing Director of Dangote Farms Ltd., Abdulkareem Kaita, has disclosed.
Kaita said the federal government’s importation policy was frustrated by tomato smugglers.
He said the factory was closed down because of inconsistent supply of tomatoes by farmers owing to short fall in prices of the produce.
The prices, he added, later went very high because farmers were not getting support or incentive from government to produce more tomatoes.
Kaita spoke at a one-day tomato price stabilisation forum in Kaduna in conjunction with the National Association of AgriBusiness Group (NABG).
He spoke as NABG warned of the return of Tuta-aboluta known as Tomato Ebola.
Kaita said Nigeria is capable of producing and importing tomatoes if government is committed and sincere with its policy.
94.6 per cent of imported tomato paste, he said, failed National Agency for Food and Drug Administration Control (NAFDAC)’s minimum quality test.
Kaita accused some government officials of sabotaging the importation policy it takes off.
The General Manager said part of the major challenges encountered, w
Vice President NABG Emmanuel Ijewere alerted farmers of possible return of Tuta-aboluta following its infestation on tomato plants in 2015, causing farmers to count their losses.
Ijewere however said with the help of research conducted by Nigerian Institute of Horticultural Research (NIHORT) farmers can easily tackle tomato ebola infestation by ”putting water and detergent in a plastic bowl, and placing a stone on it. Then put a rechargeable lamp on the bowl.”
He explained morphs and flies responsible for the disease easily get attracted to light and fall into the bowl.
Ijewere said: “Farmers don’t have to spend so much money on buying chemicals that are sometimes harmful on the tomato ebola issue.
“We are now improving on their level of education and this year we are waiting for it, we have been practicing on how to effectively get rid of it for good,” he said.
|The Nation