By Adedapo Adesanya
Managing Director of Dangote Tomato Processing Plant in Kadawa, Kano State, Mr Abdulkarim Kaita, has called for the total ban on the importation of tomato paste by the Federal government.
He made this call during the inspection of the newly established N3 billion greenhouses at Kadawa village in Kura Local Government Area on Friday.
“We are appealing to the Federal Government to put a total ban on the importation of tomato like what it did to rice,” Mr Kaita said.
He noted that putting this policy in place would boost local production of the commodity and also ensure that Nigeria is self-sufficient in tomato production.
According to him, the ban will lead to the establishment of more tomato processing plants as well as create jobs for many people in the country.
Mr Kaita said the company was putting a lot of effort to ensure Nigeria’s self-sufficiency in tomato production which with the greenhouses will have the capacity to produce 350 million seedlings annually which amounts to 12,000 hectares of tomato per season.
“There are 12 tomato producing states in the country with 171,000 hectares which if fully cultivated, in the next one year, Nigeria will be able to start exporting tomato.
“The greenhouse which is the largest in Africa is established to provide tomato growers with high yield tomato seedlings in the country.
“We are working with the Central Bank of Nigeria under the Anchor Borrower Programme to provide tomato farmers with high yield seeds which will enable them to produce a minimum of 40 tons per hectare,” he said.
Dipo Olowookere