Nigeria is the world's 13th largest producer of tomatoes and second in Africa, yet the country continues to spend over $300 million annually on importing tomato concentrate. The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) states that domestic demand for tomatoes is 2.3 million tons, while the country only produces 1.8 million tons a year. The absence of a proper agricultural value chain system means that most of the tomatoes produced in the country are wasted due to post harvest loss, poor handling system, poor distribution channels and lack of easy access to markets.
To solve the situation, investors in Nigeria are now building new tomato plants that will process raw tomatoes into paste while some are taking over moribund plants. One such moribund plants is the Ikara Food Processing Plant in Kaduna which had been closed down for over two decades. It has now been resuscitated through a Public-Private Partnership between the state government and Springfield Agro Ltd.
Springfield Agro has invested over N200 million so far on revamping the Ikara processing plant, just as it sealed a pact with Growth and Employment in states Wholesale and Retail sector (GEMS4) development programme to address production challenges and inefficiencies in the wholesale and retail market system for the commodity.
Growth and Employment in States — Wholesale and Retail Sector (GEMS4) facilitates links between farmers and processing companies. It is a 17 million pound market development project in Nigeria, funded by the World Bank and the U.K’s Department for International Development.
The Managing Director of Springfield Agro Limited, Tarun Das explained that the pact with GEMS4 will help to reduce post-harvest loss in the community, as well as aid the supply chain through the out-grower scheme. With a production target of 2,500 metric tonnes monthly, Das added that the firm will unveil its solutions through high yield technology while reducing the movement of tomatoes across the country.
