Kano State govt allocating new farms to tomato producers to feed Dangote plant, others
As part of new survival plan to maintain lead in tomato farming, the Kano state Commissioner of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Alhaji Nasiru Gawuna, has said that his ministry is now allocating massive farmlands to old and new tomato farmers.
In an interview, he said the target is to feed Dangote Tomato Processing Company and further saturate local consumer markets in cities across Nigeria.
He said under the plan, the state government would allocate the farms to interested private investors who would produce the commodity and sell it to people for local consumption.
According to him, the initiative would go a long way in boosting production of the commodity in addition to providing Tomato Processing Companies with adequate raw materials for their operation.
Explaining more, Gawuna said “This is what the government did at Kadawa where it set aside many farms for tomato production as a trial”.
The Commissioner, who, attributed the decline in tomato production in the state in recent times to pest infection, said the state government had concluded arrangements to support farmers to boost the production of the commodity.
While revealing that the government had set up a committee called “Innovative Platform on Tomato” to ensure effective implementation of the government’s plans, he disclosed that the state government had concluded arrangements to construct boreholes at all irrigation sites across the 44 local government areas of the state to enhance irrigation activities.
According to him, the measure became necessary in order to ensure massive production of some selected commodities especially groundnut, maize and wheat, among others.
“The initiative will not only provide job opportunities to the teeming number of unemployed persons but will also check rural-urban drift especially among youths,” he added.
Business Hilights recalls that due to the decline in the production of the commodity in Kano and other neighbouring states, the Dangote Tomato Processing Company had yet to resume production since the outbreak of the tomato disease known as “Tuta Absoluta”, about two years ago.
