the recent outbreak of ‘Tomato Ebola’ in three major tomato-producing states that led to the loss of over N1.3billion may threaten Nigeria’s food security and ‘Nigeria First’ policy. The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, who revealed this in Abuja at a four-day capacity building for financial institutions, said the pest outbreak had severely impacted tomato production in Kano, Katsina and Kaduna states.
The workshop was organized by the HortiNigeria in collaboration with the Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL Plc). The minister also disclosed that the pest had led to a dramatic rise in the price of a 50kg basket of tomatoes from N5,000 to N10,000, and in some cases up to N30,000.
The minister said the invasive pest can decimate tomato fields within 48 hours, leading to catastrophic yield losses. No doubt, the pest has exposed the fragility of the nation’s horticultural systems. The Tomato Ebola has reportedly worsened the already troubling food inflation and put immense pressure on household budget and deepened the cost of living crisis.
We decry the loss of over N1.3billion in three states to Tomato Ebola and call on the government to rise to the challenge forthwith. The federal government should urgently come up with targeted pest control strategies, invest in crop varieties and enhance support systems for farmers to protect food supply chains and curb further damage. The tomato farmers must be saved from the devastating tomato leaf miner, called Tomato Ebola or Tuta absoluta.
Let the government ensure that the Tomato Ebola is not allowed to spread to other tomato-producing states. Tomatoes and peppers are essential ingredients in virtually every Nigeria kitchen and they serve as baseline commodities for daily cooking. The rising prices of these commodities will definitely affect the cost of meals in the homes, restaurants and food vendors. In the 2024 National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), tomatoes led the food price index by 320 per cent year-on-year increase, followed by peppers and other produce.
Since agriculture remains our low-hanging fruit towards achieving the nation’s food security, ‘Nigeria First’ policy and diversification of the economy, the federal, state and local governments must prioritise the development of agriculture more seriously. We have enough arable land and manpower to use agriculture as the base for our industrialization. Others countries such as the United States (US) and China did the same to industrialize their countries.
With mechanized agriculture, Nigeria will no longer spend so much on food imports. It can use agriculture to earn more foreign revenues and lessen the over-dependence on oil and gas revenue. As the mainstay of the economy, agriculture has the potential of employing more Nigerians, ensure food security and enhance our capacity in the non-oil sector. State and local governments should stop toying with agriculture. Paying lip service to the sector will undermine our dream of becoming an industrialized nation.
Without developing our agricultural sector, our dream of actualizing the $1trillion economy by 2030 will be a mirage. This is the time to reenact the groundnut and rice pyramid in the First Republic Northern region, the oil palm wonder in the Eastern region and the cocoa plantation exploits in the Western region and rubber plantation in Mid-West region.
We can do more in yam and cassava production. Nigeria can boost tremendously its revenue with the exportation of cashew nuts, coconut, tomatoes, peppers, vegetables, dates, sesame seeds, soyabeans and others. We can, indeed, earn more revenue from agriculture than oil and gas.
Arising from the foregoing, we commend the federal government for signing the $158.15 million financing agreement for the Value Chain Programme in Northern Nigeria (VCN) as part of measures to revolutionize the nation’s agriculture sector. The VCN project will support agriculture development and value addition for farmers in nine Northern states—Borno, Bauchi, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Jigawa, Sokoto, Yobe and Zamfara. The eight-year project is funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), French Development Agency (AFD), and the Federal Government.
To ensure overall development of the agricultural sector, the government should also extend such gestures to states in the South. Beyond the development of the agricultural sector, the federal government should be fully involved in the development of the solid mineral sector which has immense potential to grow the economy, create more jobs and develop the country.
Government should stop illegal miners and their foreign collaborators from having a field day and depriving the government and Nigerians of billions of dollars every year in the mining sector. The federal government should show much interest in the mining sector as it has shown in the oil and gas sector. In the new spirit of ‘Nigeria First’ policy, the domination of the mining sector by foreigners, especially Asians, should be a thing of the past.