From Okwe Obi, Abuja
The recent flood that ravaged Mokwa town in Niger State and some parts of the north central has taken a toll on tomato and pepper farmers, leading to poor production.
The development has led to a surge in the prices of the commodities with many households describing it as peppery.
The consequences of the flood have drilled holes in the pockets of Muslims who did not have a fun-filled Sallah celebration because the cost of the commodities, especially in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja, was sky-high.
What was initially sold for N500, precisely in the last two months, were bought for N4000. Last week, a big basket of tomatoes, which was sold for about 80,000, now oscillates between 100,000 and N150,000.
Mohammed Umar, a tomato seller at Kabusa market, who stated this said the prices of the commodities would soar higher in the coming weeks as farmers count losses and flood detain trucks from easily accessing roads leading to the southern part of the country from the north.
The National President of the Tomato Growers Association of Nigeria, Abdullahi Ringim, has also attributed the looming scarcity to multiple challenges. Chief among them is the outbreak of the tomato pest disease Tuta absoluta, commonly referred to as “tomato ebola,” which has severely impacted crop yields.
He also cited the Federal Government’s failure to fully implement the national tomato policy, designed to restrict the importation of certain tomato varieties, as a key factor compounding the crisis.
He pointed out that tomatoes and peppers are seasonal products.
“Well, first and foremost, tomatoes are a seasonal product. So, at times, tomatoes are expensive, at other times tomatoes are not expensive due to the seasonal nature of the produce.
“This year, in particular, there was a massive outbreak of tomato ebola called Tuta Absoluta, and it wiped out so many farms in Kano, Kaduna, Plateau, and we have even reported that to the Ministry of Agriculture. They promised intervention and we are still waiting for that.
“So, with respect to the tomato ebola, we have each year warned that by the time this manifests in a particular farm, it is already late. So subsidisation should be in a way that farmers will have the chemical and the sprayers ready long before the problem occurs. “By the time you identify one farm, the following day it would have spread to ten farms, in two days time it will wipe out the entire farms because of the nature of the disease.
“We have repeatedly complained, explained, begged, pleaded, all we get are promises, so we would hope that our farmers would have to buy it themselves at a very high cost,” he said.
He added: “The third reason is of course the transportation cost. If you transport tomatoes from Kano, for instance, to Abuja, or to Mile 12 in Lagos, or to Port Harcourt, you incur three costs. One, His Royal Majesty, the President of Nigeria, has increased the cost of petroleum.
“So, that escalated the transportation costs. Two, along the lines, states and local governments are stopping our tomato trucks. At the time they stop the trucks, they know that tomatoes are a perishable food, so you either bribe them, or they delay you and the tomato gets rotten.
“We have complained, complained, complained, and there does not seem to be any serious assistance. When I use the word serious, there are promises and some states have warned the road marshals that you should stop stopping tomato. Some have complied, some have not.
“Of course, by the time you add the cost of transportation, the money you pay as bribery to the road marshals, the money you pay officially as levies and taxes that are illegal because you are applying federal rules.
“The price of tomatoes will have to go up. It’s a natural, as I said, natural phenomenon, so they cannot escape.
“Then, there is the issue of tomato policy. And it appears that the government, some officials have jettisoned the policy.
“And when they jettison the policy, the whole problem is that people smuggle this tomato. They do not pay the levies, they do not pay the dues. So, they dump it.
“And when they dump it, of course, by the time you buy and bring it, even if it is smuggled, you are buying it in a compatible dollar. And His Excellency, again, has a high price of dollars. From N416, he took and hiked it to N1,700.
“There is a food crisis because of the policy of the government.
“Like I said, tomatoes have two seasons. It has the rainy season and it has the dry season.
“So, we are hoping that with the coming of the rain, some areas, especially south of the Niger, and part of the middle belt, they will start producing the rain-fed Tomato. So, the price will start coming down and the rain-fed tomatoes will start coming out.
“The rain has started in Abuja since we were in Abuja in the last one and a half years. So, chances are fresh tomatoes from the rain-fed farms will start coming down.
“So, the price is expected to go down. But this seasonality will continue. And until these issues are addressed enough, then we’ll continue to have an occurrence of this problem every year.
“There’s just no doubt about that. You can’t escape.”
In addition, Sani Danladi, Chairman of Kano State Tomatoes Farmers, said Nigeria would have to be patient until August when there would be an influx of tomatoes and peppers.
Danladi noted that Sallah break was a major scarcity factor.
One, there is the issue of Sallah celebration.Even if there is no Sallah, the supply will not be as much as it was before, because the production is low now. So, we are just preparing now. Then it started to rain.
“Some people are going back to the farm. Some have started transplanting. So, we have to manage it from now until September when the tomatoes will be available again. But for now, that is how it is going to be. We can’t go there.
“The supply is slow compared to last year. Last year, the supply was not even as much as it is now. Last year, we bought for almost 200,000, 180,000. 150,000.
“So, now it is not as much as that amount. So, I don’t know how much. But I will check later on. If you call me, I will check the market,” he said.