In
a bid to curb the waste of enormous tonnes of Tomato being produced in
Kano state and to encourage investment in its production, processing,
marketing and export, the state government has inaugurated a 12-man
Innovation Platform on Tomato Value Chain Development.
Kano,
having one of the most advanced large-scale irrigation projects, is the
hub of tomato production in Nigeria, which ranks as the second highest
producer of tomatoes in Africa and 13th in the world (FAO 2011).
But
despite the huge potential in tomato harvesting, being one of the
world’s highly consumed vegetables, more than 50 per cent of the
vegetable produced in the state in particular and other parts of the
country in general is lost due to lack of preservation and humid weather
condition exacerbated by poor marketing distribution and access to
local and international markets.
Inaugurating
the committee, Governor Ganduje stated that his government is
determined to help the mainly agrarian population of the state to
transit from subsistence to commercial agriculture for poverty reduction
and rapid economic progress.
“Development
indicators have shown that we must move from producing just what we can
eat to exporting for economic development. We must harness our
potential so that value would be added to the Tomato production chain”,
the governor stated.
He
maintained that the government is encouraging Dangote Group, through
its newly established Tomato Processing factory in Kano, to get the raw
material they need locally, thereby increasing the production capacity
of farmers.
The
1,200 tonnes capacity per day factory would be producing fresh tomato
paste for local consumption and export while about 40,000 farmers in the
state would benefit from it through cooperative societies.
According
to Governor Ganduje, the terms of reference of the Innovation Platform
on Tomato Value Chain Development, include organizing tomato farmers
into competent out-grower system that will sustain commercial tomato
production and supply to processors, marketers and direct consumers in
all seasons.
It
is also mandated to enhance performance of tomato farmers by creating
linkages amongst various actors in the tomato value chain that could
improve access to inputs, services, information knowledge and markets as
well as to improve coordination of activities of the various actors for
establishment and sustainable management of tomato business joint
ventures in Kano.
He
added that it would also promote technical and institutional capacities
of grassroots tomato production clusters for sustainable business and
organizational management and control in addition to networking with
tomato industries in emerging economies.
Responding,
the chairman of the platform, Alhaji Rabi’u Auwalu Yakasai promised to
execute the mandate with diligently and selflessly.
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