Nigeria to address tomato crisis: minister

Nigeria has concluded plans to develop a tomato policy to address the current crisis in the sub-sector, Minister of State of Industry, Trade and Investment said Tuesday.

Abubakar told reporters at the end of a stakeholder meeting in Abuja, Nigeria's capital city, that the ministry would inaugurate a technical committee next week to draft the proposed policy.

She said the meeting was convened in response to the current scarcity of tomatoes in the country occasioned by the outbreak of the tomato moth, "Tuta Absoluta".

"Our investors in the sector have also been upset about the apex bank's ban on foreign exchange allocation for the importation of tomato concentrate, a vital raw material for them," she added.

"So, we all came together to chart a way forward. The major decision we have taken is to develop a tomato policy under our National Industrial Revolution Program," the minister told reporters.

According to her, a technical committee that would work on the policy draft should take-off next week so that the ministry would have an approved plan in place before the next tomato season.

Stakeholders across the tomato value chain, including farmers, processors, packagers, relevant government ministries and regulatory agencies were represented at the meeting.

Nigeria has been hit by tomato scarcity that has pushed up the price of the essential vegetable beyond the reach of the common man. Endit