Economy
Olam Nigeria to Begin Tomato Paste Production, Acquires Land
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The tomato value chain in the country recently received a boost with the acquisition of 20 hectares of land by Olam Nigeria for the purpose of setting up farms in Karfi, Kano State, as well as Masama and Guri, both located in Jigawa State solely for the production of tomatoes.
This in line with the federal government’s initiative to attain self-sufficiency in tomato production and processing. The land was acquired by Caraway Africa Nigeria Ltd, a subsidiary of Olam, a leading player in the Nigerian agriculture value chain, under its pilot farming project.
While the tomatoes were transplanted in October 2019, harvest commenced in February 2020 and Vice President of Olam Nigeria in charge of Farming Initiatives, Mr Reji George, said preliminary results point to a bountiful harvest.
He stated that each of the farms were on course to produce 30 metrics tons of tomato per hectare, as against the 7.5 metric tons per hectare which is Nigeria’s average yield for tomato.
Mr Reji added that the commercial pilot farming initiative, which Olam Nigeria is embarking upon through Caraway Africa Nigeria, is a precursor to a backward integration project for tomato paste production which will commence in March 2021.
A major challenge confronting the production of tomatoes in Nigeria is a lack of good variety seeds to buy. Another problem is extremely poor yields as low tomato production lead to higher prices, thereby making it unattractive for processors to purchase.
These challenges are also linked to the unwillingness of farmers to produce tomatoes in large quantity because they want to avoid product decay and losses because of lack of proper storage and preservation facilities.
Addressing the challenge of poor tomato seeds, Mr Reji said Olam has signed an MOU with the World Vegetable Centre, a globally renowned research institute and prominent seed producer and developer, for the supply of 18 varieties of seeds, exclusively for Caraway Africa Nigeria.
“We have also decided to go for an additional eight varieties of hybrid tomato seeds already existing in Nigeria which have a higher yield potential, but which the farmers are not using because of the cost.
“We have selected tomato seed varieties which produce fresh tomatoes as well as the variants which are good for tomato processing,” he added.
The tomatoes, which are being currently harvested at the Caraway Africa Nigeria Kano and Jigawa farms, are considered to be of a higher quality than what is currently being produced by other farmers in terms of size, quality and weight. The tomatoes are products of the Nigerian hybrid seeds and the World Vegetable Centre seeds which were planted on a trial basis.
owner of Dogara Farms, Mr Uba Idris Dogara, who has been farming for 35 years, attested to the quality of the recently harvested tomatoes.
“I’m an old-time tomato farmer but the method Olam brought to this place is looking better than the previous method we were using. I have seen a lot of changes in their yields than what we have been getting before. There is a big improvement. This method is better than what we have seen,” the farmer said.
Farm Manager of the Masama Farm, Mr Emmanuel Agbo, and his counterpart at Abur Farm, Mr Mohammed Saulawa, both owned by Olam Nigeria and located in Jigawa State, said the quality of the tomatoes have attracted farmers who have visited their farms, curious to know about the farming methods that have produced such yields.
Speaking on the attraction, Mr Saulawa said, “They have seen the difference in terms of the fruit size and the agronomic practices that we have employed here which are not the conventional farming practices that they are used to.
“You can keep the tomato variety for a week without it getting spoilt, unlike what the farmers take to the market which decays by the second day. They have seen how we apply fertilizer and how we are consistent with our spray regime. They are visiting the farm to understudy and see how they can replicate these methods in their own farms.”
Mr Reji George added that Olam, through Caraway Africa Nigeria Limited, would soon commence a farmer’s outgrower programme as a means of supporting the farmers and also boosting tomato production in Nigeria.
According to him, 1,000 farmers will be engaged in the first year, while Olam plans to acquire about 500 hectares of land for the purpose which would kick off by September 2020. The first set of tomatoes from its farmer outgrower initiative would be ready for harvest by February 2021.
He added that the firm was in discussions with developmental organisations to build the capacities of the outgrower famers in the areas of tomato planting and cultivation.
According to him, the farmer outgrower programme would be modelled after the Olam Rice Outgrower initiative, which he described as the best outgrower scheme in Nigeria.
He further added that the tomatoes for the processing plant would be sourced through yields from its own commercial farms, yields from the farmers under its outgrower initiative and buying through agents in the open market.
Speaking on how to stem post-harvest losses, Mr Reji stated that the tomatoes would be taken to the firm’s processing facility on the same day of harvest.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Manufacturers are yet to benefit from relief on the burden of multiple taxes and levies despite the enactment of the Nigeria Tax Act 2025, according to the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN).
The association, in its Manufacturers CEO Confidence Index (MCCI) report for the second quarter of 2026, said manufacturers continued to face multiple tax collectors and regulatory agencies during the period.
Director-General of MAN, Mr Segun Ajayi-Kadir, said the new tax law, which was expected to reduce the burden of multiple taxation, had yet to deliver the intended benefits.
“Manufacturers complained that they were still met with multiple tax collectors and regulators in Q2 2026. It follows that the implementation of the Nigeria Tax Act 2025 is yet to achieve its objective of relieving manufacturers of the burden of taxes and levies,” he said.
According to the report, Nigeria’s business environment remains largely unsupportive of manufacturing growth, with local sourcing of raw materials emerging as the only indicator that recorded noticeable improvement.
MAN, however, warned that the gains in local sourcing could be undermined by worsening insecurity in parts of the country.
The association attributed the improvement largely to persistent foreign exchange constraints, which have forced many manufacturers to source inputs locally.
Despite this, it said excessive regulation and multiple taxation continue to weigh heavily on manufacturers.
The report showed that manufacturers recorded a modest increase in sales volume during the second quarter, but rising production, distribution and logistics costs continued to erode profitability.
It added that capacity utilisation, production levels, investment and employment remained broadly unchanged during the review period.
MAN further observed that although recent foreign exchange reforms had helped stabilise the naira, inadequate foreign currency supply remained a major constraint to manufacturing operations.
Other key challenges identified in the report include poor infrastructure, high production costs, raw material shortages and unfavourable trade policies.
The association said the findings underscore the continued pressure on manufacturers despite recent fiscal and foreign exchange reforms, stressing the need for more effective implementation of policies aimed at improving the operating environment for the real sector.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The federal government spent N3.14 trillion on servicing its domestic debt in the first quarter (Q1) of 2026, according to the Debt Management Office (DMO).
The figure, contained in the DMO’s latest domestic debt service report for Q1 2026, comprised N2.97 trillion in interest payments and N169.68 billion in principal repayments.
According to the report, the government spent N741.82 billion on domestic debt service in January before the figure rose to N967.67 billion in February.
Debt service increased further to N1.43 trillion in March, bringing total spending for the quarter to N3.14 trillion.
The March figure represented a 47.7 per cent increase from the N967.67 billion recorded in February and was 92.7 per cent higher than the N741.82 billion spent in January.
The debt office said interest payments accounted for approximately 94.6 per cent of the total domestic debt service during the quarter.
Treasury bills accounted for the largest share of interest payments at N1 trillion, while interest payments on Federal Government bonds stood at N1.96 trillion.
The government also paid N4.24 billion in interest on FGN savings bonds during the period.
The debt management body said the principal component of the debt service comprised N169.68 billion in repayments on local-denominated promissory notes.
Overall, domestic debt service rose significantly throughout the quarter, with March alone accounting for nearly half of the N3.14 trillion spent between January and March.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mr Emomotimi Agama, has outlined how the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) can leverage Nigeria’s capital market to raise long-term funds for critical infrastructure projects instead of relying solely on annual budgetary allocations.
According to Mr Agama, the capital market offers the FCT a sustainable financing model for roads, rail, housing, water, transport and other infrastructure through instruments such as infrastructure bonds, green bonds, real estate investment trusts (REITs), asset recycling and tokenised municipal securities.
Speaking at the Abuja Business and Investment Summit and Expo (ABIE 2026) in Abuja, the SEC chief noted that Abuja’s development demonstrates that economic growth is driven by investment, stressing that “cities are not built by budgets alone. Cities are built by capital markets.”
He advised the FCT to establish a long-term infrastructure bond programme backed by dedicated revenue sources such as ground rents, tenement rates, tolls, parking fees and land-use charges, noting that this would enable the territory to finance major projects without overburdening annual budgets.
“A budget can only spend what a single year has collected. A bond can spend what 30 years will collect,” Mr Agama said, explaining that infrastructure projects generate long-term economic value that can be used to service debt over time.
The SEC boss said the territory could also access cheaper financing through green and sustainability-linked bonds for projects including mass transit, light rail, solar-powered street lighting, waste-to-energy facilities and water infrastructure.
He further proposed the creation of an FCT Real Estate Investment Trust to unlock value from Abuja’s extensive property portfolio while giving ordinary Nigerians an opportunity to invest in the city’s real estate market.
Mr Agama also urged Abuja Investments Company Limited (AICL) to consider listing some of its businesses or establishing a listed infrastructure fund, saying this would raise capital without increasing government debt while improving corporate governance and transparency.
On the long-abandoned Millennium Tower project, he said the estimated over N400 billion completion cost should not be viewed as a budgetary burden but as an investment opportunity that could be financed through a special purpose vehicle and offered to investors via the capital market.
“The question is not whether Nigeria can afford the Millennium Tower. The question is whether we will let ordinary Nigerians own it,” he said.
Mr Agama further proposed an asset recycling programme under which completed income-generating public assets, including terminals, markets, commercial properties and the International Conference Centre, could be securitised or concessioned to institutional investors, with proceeds reinvested in new infrastructure.
He also called on the FCT to pioneer a regulated tokenised municipal bond programme that would allow citizens to invest as little as N10,000 through mobile phones in specific infrastructure projects.
According to him, the recently enacted Investments and Securities Act (ISA) 2025 has strengthened the legal framework for sub-national governments to access the capital market while providing enhanced investor protection and clearer regulation of digital assets.
Mr Agama disclosed that Nigeria’s capital market has grown significantly, with total market capitalisation exceeding N217 trillion as of May 2026, comprising about N160.5 trillion in equities and N56.7 trillion in bonds.
He said recent reforms, including the migration to a T+1 settlement cycle and regulatory measures to deepen market participation, have improved market efficiency and strengthened investor confidence.
The SEC DG assured the FCTA of the commission’s readiness to provide technical support for structuring and registering capital market instruments, saying the agency would work closely with the territory to unlock financing for infrastructure projects.
He added that Nigeria’s capital market remains critical to mobilising domestic savings for national development, insisting that “money is not scarce; delivery capacity is scarce, and financing follows delivery capacity.”
