Tomatoes scarcity: El-Rufai declares emergency

The Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir el-Rufai has declared a state of emergency in tomato production in the state, saying all hands must be on deck to combat various pests and diseases ravaging tomato, Punch reports.
The governor on Monday revealed that 80 per cent of the tomato produced in the state had been ravaged by pests and diseases.

El-Rufai said tomato had been destroyed in three local government areas of the state with a loss of N1bn monthly.

The governor spoke through his Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr. Manzo Maigari.

He said the state government was worried over the situation, hence the decision to declare a state of emergency in the sector, according to Cable.

According to him, over 200 tomato farmers in three out of the 12 tomato producing Local Government Areas of the state, were affected by the pests, adding that the farmers had suffered loses worth about one billion naira in the last one month.

Manzo disclosed that, some officials of the state ministry agriculture had been sent to Kenya to discuss with experts and proffer solutions to the problem.