The Federal Government on Tuesday said the pest, Tuta absoluta, popularly known as ‘Tomato Ebola’, which is responsible for the massive destruction of tomato in farmlands, had invaded six states in Nigeria.

It also disclosed that Nigeria spent about N80bn ($400m) annually importing tomato paste, adding that many of the imported products were substandard.



The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr. Audu Ogbeh, who said this during a press briefing in Abuja, stated that the report that tomato processing factories had mopped-up tomato fruits in Nigeria was unfounded and untrue.

According to him, the highly reproductive nature of the tomato pest coupled with the favourable environment and lack of management knowledge for containment resulted in its spread like a wild fire without any challenge. This development had led to the destruction of tomato fruits in Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Kaduna, Plateau and Lagos.

Ogbeh, however, stated that the Federal Government had started consulting with states and experts in other to fashion out measures to tackle the pest.

He said, “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.”

He stated that the experts had, however, offered some varieties of tomato that grow well in the western part of the country as alternatives.

On the amount spent on importing tomato paste, the minister said, “We have two processing plants for tomato paste in Nigeria, Erisco and Dangote, and their capacities are huge. We welcome their arrival because our annual import bill of tomato paste is about $400m and it is a good sign that we can now produce here and make money for our farmers.”

Proffering measures that could be used to check pests as well as manage pesticides in Nigeria, CropLife International, a group of agro-professionals, advocated the use of hazard-based approach rather than a risk-based methodology.

The group, in a communique issued at the end of a two-day West and Central Africa Hub and Regulatory Workshop in Abuja, also called for the promotion and adoption of relevant biotechnologies in farming activities.

In the communique, it insisted on the need for safe and responsible use of pesticides as well as safe management of empty pesticide containers.

During the workshop, CropLife got the support of the Senate towards enacting of a pesticide legislation to mitigate the problem of misuse and address importation of pesticides including marketing, storage, application and use, among other provisions.

http://www.punchng.com/tomato-ebola-hits-six-states-fg/

more on

http://www.blackberrybabes.com/2016/05/tomato-ebola-hits-six-states-fg.html

My tomatoe Jos eyaaayy i just dey think about you...*flavours voice*

APC and lies.

See cover up to the massive failure in the Agricultural sector

Nigerians' are now wiser than this kinda outdated politics APC is practising

Well hardly anyone eats tomato these days. Nothing to worry about.

Tomato ebola hahahaha

insecurity in the middle belt is making transporting of tomatoes too dangerous to attempt. Middle belters are wise now plus herdsmen are killing everything moving. the Tinubu media wants you to believe otherwise but the fact that displacement camps are swelling in the country tells me the security situation is getting worst in the north. It's now no longer safe to far. crops are destroyed and people are killed. All of these farmers that buhari's brothers are butchering, is it not their produces that's being feed to these cows?


It's ndigbo that benefit for tomato imports so let them continue killing themselves.

Shame stands very far from where APC is..

The federal should take more active steps.

Audu Ogbe is totally and absolutely talking.

who was the jobless person dat named all these diseases at first

omowolewa:
Audu Ogbe is totally and absolutely talking.

This one has smelt an igbo name and is on the prowl.
What about Buhari? After all Audu is probably watching over 2-3 ministries as 1 man like Fashola, are you seeing success from the minster of darkness?


Zombies can only be objective when they see the names Kwachukwu and now Audu. lol. We see you in 3D

VampireeM:
Since Audu Ogbeh was made minister for Agriculture, all he has been doing is to talk talk, no action or blueprint @ all.. Less than one year APC came into govt, the agric sector sector has crashed to zero percent! Always giving excuses for their incompetence

point proven

EasternLeopard:
APC and lies.

See cover up to the massive failure in the Agricultural sector

Get sense for once. I'm still waiting for when you'll blame Buhari for the pests.

Who the hell is the minister of agric

VampireeM:
Since Audu Ogbeh was made minister for Agriculture, all he has been doing is to talk talk, no action or blueprint @ all.. Less than one year APC came into govt, the agric sector sector has crashed to zero percent! Always giving excuses for their incompetence

return to posting you usual trash

VampireeM:
Breast wey gals suck that year in secondary school

I can see she still has nice titts and beautiful too.

Those crazy years in boarding school in O'town.

HML babe. God's blessings

chriskosherbal:
The federal should take more active steps.

So proffering solution to this menace has become the exclusive preserve of the FG? Can't states sponsore research or it's now like the distribution in the power sector?

Tomato ebola?

'Onion AIDS and orange cancer' loading




Only in naija!

Ofodirinwa:

Post from October 2015
https://www.nairaland.com/2688874/rivers-state-belongs-centre-not/1

Quote whenever you have brains. Was the budget not just recently signed?

OrlandoOwoh:

Quote whenever you have brains. Was the budget not just recently signed?

6 months to pick a minister of agriculture
1 year 4 months to present and pass a budget

you don't think tomatoes will spoil by then? Be careful what you say next, I'm looking at your old posts and I'm ready to expose your hypocrisy. Zombie

EasternLeopard:
APC and lies.

See cover up to the massive failure in the Agricultural sector

Have u praised him for how cheap onions are now??

I think that the theorem of factories mopping up tomato fruits is more plausible than Ebola obliterating tomatoes without scientific prove.

Audu Ogbeh has made no impact on the sector despite being a farmer himself!

For El-Rufai to send over his officials to come over to Kenya to get the solution to the crisis, which is so readily available here in Kenya, is an indictment on our Research institutes and Faculties of Agriculture!

[quote author=OrlandoOwoh post=45944952]
Quote whenever you have brains. Was the budget not just recently signed?[/quote

Why are you dignifying these simpletons with response?

Allow them churn out their stupidness.Dont waste your time with those cretins

This is serious a Tomato is now more expensive than an Apple

Hmmmm ... God save Us ...

See what you are selfishly benefitting from? You pple

Ofodirinwa:
Tomato ebola hahahaha

insecurity in the middle belt is making transporting of tomatoes too dangerous to attempt.


It's ndigbo that benefit for tomato imports so let them continue killing themselves.

APC and bad luck.

All in a bid to promote Dangote's product.....
Moona continue o..