•All hands must be on deck to check the spread before it is too late
It is a reflection of the devastating potency of the pest responsible for the large-scale destruction of tomato farms in six states that the destroyer has been named “Tomato Ebola”. Likening the pest’s destructive power to the dreaded and deadly Ebola virus helped to define its colossal capacity for damage.
Painting a picture of the dangerous pest also known as Tuta absoluta, a report described it as “a grey-brown moth that is 7mm long, which can wipe out a farm within days”. The report said: “Once it attacks a farm, there is no remedy. The pest attacks fruits in the open farm and in greenhouses. It is lethal; and a female pest can produce up to 260 eggs in 21 days.”
This pest has ravaged tomato farms in Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Kaduna, Plateau and Lagos states, according to the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr. Audu Ogbeh, who admitted to reporters in Abuja that the pest’s reproductive capability and the lack of expertise for its containment were strong factors responsible for its spread and the scale of devastation.
The example of Kaduna State, which is regarded as the country’s tomato capital, presents a revealing scope of the tomato crisis. The governor of the state, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, reportedly declared a “tomato state of emergency”, and was quoted as saying 80 percent of Kaduna’s tomato production has been affected by the problem. Indeed, the problem is so serious that businessman Aliko Dangote, rated as Nigeria’s and Africa’s richest man, reportedly suspended production at his tomato processing plant in Kano State because of a lack of tomatoes.
It is however a welcome development that the Federal Government has initiated a counter-attack to crush the pest. Ogbeh was quoted as saying: “The pest can also attack even pepper and Irish potato. So we are confronting something quite serious. But the good thing is that we are tackling it right now as experts will commence work immediately. We are bringing the commissioners and governors of states to jointly attack this pest, which, if not dealt with, will create serious problems for food security in our country.” The information that the pest also poses a danger to other important crops is an added reason it should be contained without delay.
Finding a solution is urgent, and it is a positive move that the Kaduna State government is exploring foreign avenues. The state’s commissioner for agriculture, Daniel Manzo Maigari, was quoted as saying: “We have sent some of our officials to Kenya to meet our partners. Kenya has a good advantage over us on this issue. We understand that they use a plant extract to take care of this problem. But we do not have that knowledge yet. We expect them to return very soon with short- and mid-term solutions.”
It is noteworthy that, according to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), Nigeria is the 13th largest producer of tomato in the world and the second after Egypt in Africa. In addition, Nigeria reportedly has a domestic demand for tomatoes put at 2.3 million tons, while it produces only 1.8 million tons annually.
Evidently, given this background, “Tomato Ebola” represents a disturbing threat to food security in the country, with undesirable socio-economic implications. It is a cause for concern that the tomato destroyer has negatively affected tomato supply in the country, resulting in a marked shortage that has phenomenally increased the cost of tomato, reportedly by about 400 percent.
Considering that tomatoes are a major ingredient in many Nigerian dishes, it is unsurprising that there is a public outcry over the scarcity as well as the soaring cost of the vegetable crop.
Corrective action is needed now.
