The federal government of Nigeria has disclosed its plan to stop tomato paste importation before the year runs out.
This was disclosed by Audu Ogbeh, minister of agriculture and natural resources, during a tour of the DANGOTE Tomato Processing Plant in Kadawa, Kano state.
According to the minister, the federal government of Nigeria has set aside N250 billion through the Central Bank of Nigeria and Bank Agriculture to disburse as soft loans to tomato farmers as part of the Anchor Borrower scheme.
He said, “The farmers will supply to the processor and eventually join tomato breeders in the world. In a short while, Nigeria will simply stop importation and dependence on other sources for tomato supply.”
Okay Nigeria recalls that Dangote launched the company in March 2016 to reduce importation of tomato paste to the country.
However, the company suspended its operations in 2016, after an invasion by Tuta Absoluta, a leaf-mining moth, which destroyed tomato farms.
