As previously reported here, Nigeria has been struggling with a tomato shortage. The price of the fruit is now said to have increased by 400 percent, with Nigerians now paying around 200 Naira for the same quantity of tomatoes which was sold at 50 Naira a few months ago. Many rumours have circulated as to what is causing the shortage, but now it is being reported that the pest Tuta absoluta is the main cause. Tuta absoluta has reportedly affected tomato farms in Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina and Plateau states.
According to a Naija247news report, the Dangote Tomato Company in the Kano State has closed operations partly because of the scarcity of tomato in the market recently. It was also reported that a farmer at Kadawa irrigation site in Kano State, Ahmadu Hudu Garunmalam, disclosed that the disease has destroyed tomato plants on many farms and that farmers had made efforts to use chemicals to save their farms, but still their tomato plants shrank and later wilted.
Around this time last year, farmers in some parts of Nigeria recorded losses as a result of this same pest attack but the consequences of this attack weren’t reflected in the price of the commodity, because the demand for the crop wasn’t as high as it is now.
If the Nigerian government does not treat this as a matter of urgency it can take years to recover from the attack. It took Sudan about three years to recover from a similar attack in 2010. This plague could also dampen the export of fruits and vegetables.
The disease which farmers also refer to as ‘Tomato Ebola’ has reduced locally available fresh tomatoes, forcing consumers to buy canned purees/pastes which are relatively cheaper.
