TOMATO PRICE FALLS BACK TO NORMAL AFTER LONG INSECT FIGHT - KADUNA STATE.

FRESHEST TOMATOES IN TOWN.

Just a few months ago, it had being an all anger and pain for households as the price and availability of tomatoes across the country has being very expensive as a result of scarcity caused by the pest ‘Tuta Absoluta’, a.k.a “tomato ebola”.
This affected the crop in most parts of the North-west, notably Kaduna, Jigawa, Katsina and Kano States where the productions are known to be highest. A small basket of tomatoes, which sold for #25,000 as at May, now sells for #800 in Kaduna. As a result, the basket prices jumped from the range of #800-#1200 to between #25,000 and #40,000 at the height of the crisis.

Buyers could not believe their eyes, as tomato prices had crashed to a two-month low.
Abass Mai Tumatur, chairman of the tomato sellers said it was a “pleasant relief” for everyone as tomatoes are now available and in large quantities.
“Tomato scarcity is nothing new, but it was made worse this year by the invasion of the moth,” he said.
He said the insects mutate more during the dry season but don’t survive during the rainy season.
“The rains coupled with the efforts of government have helped tremendously in making tomato available,” he said, praising the government for the “timely intervention”.
He assured the public that the worst was over “and hopefully for good”.
Farmers were left stranded and helpless as the moth ravaged their farms and left destruction across the farming community, making a pot of soup as expensive as gold. Hotels and restaurants, in particular, faced a nightmare as the crisis also shot up the price of canned tomato paste.
Many were not aware of the reasons for the scarcity as frantic efforts were made to address the situation.
Nasir el-Rufai, the Kaduna State Governor, declared a state of emergency and dispatched officials to Kenya to find ways of tackling the ravaging insects. The cost of the destruction in the state, according to el-Rufai, was close to 1billion Naira. Audu Ogbeh, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, also commissioned experts to find solutions to the disease outbreak “as soon as possible”. The insect originated from South America around 1912 and has spread to other parts of the world.
Information has it that the insects came to Africa through the Republic of Niger.