Agriculture with Jimoh

The Gombe State Agricultural Development Project (ADP) says that the tomato pest, Tuta Absoluta, has seriously affected tomato harvests in three of the state’s 11 local government areas. Mr Abba Dreba, the Pest Control Officer of the ADP, told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Gombe on Wednesday that the affected local governments were Akko, Kwami and Yamltu-Deba. “The tomato pest started ravaging tomato farms since last year but the ADP was not aware of this until this year; this is because tomato farmers in the affected local government areas were ignorant of the pest. “However, when we received the report, we went round the entire local governments of Gombe and discovered that only Akko, Kwami and Yamltu-Deba local government areas were affected. “The entire tomato farms in the three areas were devastated. This is a very serious problem because the pest is resistant to all the available chemicals and insecticides in the market,’’ he said. According to him...

National Horticultural Research Institute (NIHORT), Ibadan, on Wednesday disclosed that the devastation of tomatoes by Tuta Absoluta pest had been reduced by 40 per cent. The Acting Executive Director of NIHORT, Dr Abayomi Olaniyan, said this in Ibadan at the institute’s In-House review with the theme “Role of Horticulture in Green Alternative for Improved Livelihood’’. Olaniyan noted that some of the major achievements of the institute in the 2016/2017 period included 114 tomato lines that were collected and under screening for bacterial wilt tolerance. He said that 44 pepper lines were collected and under screening for tolerance to viral infections, adding that five new varieties of mushroom were also collected from East Africa. He also said that 50 kilogrammes of organic fertiliser were produced from a mixture of horticulture waste, while four forms of soap were produced from horticultural waste and packaged. “ One micro garden demonstration centre was established at ...

Alhaji Abdulkarim Kaita, the Managing Director of Dangote Tomato Processing Company, Kadawa, Kano State, has commended the Federal Government for banning the importation of tomato paste into the country. The managing director said on Tuesdayin Kano that “I want to use this opportunity to commend the Federal Government for the singular act. “The information reaching us is that government has banned importation of tomato paste and the Central Bank of Nigeria will support tomato growers with loan under the Anchor Borrower programme,” he said. Kaita noted that enforcing total ban on importation of the commodity would enable local tomato processing factories to thrive, in addition to providing job opportunities to the teeming number of unemployed persons in the country. “The importation of tomato paste from China had adversely affected the local tomato processing companies as local product was not being patronized adequately.” According to him, his company plans...

The Managing Director, Dangote Tomato Processing Company, Alhaji Abdulkarim Kaita, on Monday said the factory would resume production on Sunday, March 19. Kaita disclosed this in an interview with to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kano. He said the company, located in Kadawa, Kano State, was expecting a team of engineers from Italy on Friday as part of preparation to resume production. “As part of preparations to resume production on Sunday, we are expecting a team of engineers from Italy on Friday. “The machines are under guarantee and we are not able to operate last year due to the scarcity of fresh tomato in Kano and other neighboring states,” he said. Kaita said the engineers would assess the quality parameters as well as the installed capacity of the machines before they could finally hand them over to the company. “Our engineers are ready to begin work and as soon as the other team of engineers arrive, we hope to resume operation on Sunday.” ...

The Dangote Tomato Processing Company, Kadawa, Kano state has concluded arrangement to purchase fresh tomatoes from farmers in Gombe and Sokoto States. The company had already signed an agreement with Tomato Growers Association for the procurement of the commodity from the two states. The Managing Director of the company, Alhaji Abdulkarim Kaita disclosed this to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kano on Tuesday. He said that the company found it necessary to go into the agreement following the non availability of the commodity in Kano and other neighbouring states that produced it in large commercial quantities. He noted that the CBN anchor borrower programme had adversely affected tomato the production this irrigation season, especially in Kano State where many farmers shifted to wheat and rice production. “The wheat and rice loans given to farmers this year have affected tomato production in the state. “This is the reason why the product is still cost...

Ooni wants inclusive agriculture to reduce poverty, unemployment .... Storage facilities major problem-- Dangote  ......  brief case’ farmers   recognised ---AFN boss  ....... The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, has called on Nigerians to aggressively engage in agriculture to end poverty and reduce unemployment in the country. Adeyeye made the call at the 2017 Mike Omotosho Annual Lecture with theme, `Increased Agricultural Productivity for Sustainable Economic Growth’, in Abuja on Saturday. He said that engaging in agriculture was a sure way to ensure nation building, especially in the currently recession facing the country. The Onni expressed concern that deforestation which he said had reached an alarming rate in the country had resulted in low productivity of farmers in food production. The Oba said: ‘’ We abandoned the bedrock of this country and that is why we are where we are today. “ We need proper mind re-orientation and change our focus to agr...

The Dangote Tomato Processing Factor in Kadawa, Kura Local Government Area of Kano State is to resume production in February. The company, which began production in Feb. 2016, had to suspend operation due to lack of enough raw materials. The Managing Director of the company, Alh. Abdulkadir Kaita, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Kano. He added that preparation for production to resume was at an advanced stage. Kaita said that the company had to suspend production, when most of the tomato farms in about five states were affected by a pest, which destroyed all the tomato species. “We expect that tomato farmers would have produced enough for the company to process, hence our decision to resume production in February,’’ he said. According to him, many tomato farmers at the Kadawa, Kura, Garun-Malam and Hadeja-Jama’are irrigation sites are expected to produce enough for the company to process. “We deli...