Senator Abubakar Kyari, the Minister of Agriculture, has stated that the scarcity and high pricing of the country’s key products are due to a major infestation of the tomato crop.
Using his official X (formerly Twitter) account, Kyari made a statement on Monday in which he called the infestation that is creating tomato scarcity “Tomato Ebola” or “Tomato Leaf Miner.”
Recall that a market survey carried out by The News Chronicles revealed on Sunday that a basket of tomatoes was selling for as much as N150,000 in some regions of the nation.
The minister announced that to contain and get rid of the infestation, the Federal Government has dispatched specialists to the impacted areas.
The Minister explained:
“A serious infection known as Tomato Ebola or Tomato Leaf Miner has impacted a considerable portion of our tomato farms. This has led to a significant decrease in tomato availability and an increase in prices.”
“We are addressing this issue head-on in our ministry. To contain and get rid of the infestation, we are sending agricultural specialists to the impacted areas.”
“In addition, just as we established the Ginger Blight Control Taskforce, we are providing our farmers with the tools and direction they need to recover their crops as soon as possible.”
“We are aware of the disruption this causes to your everyday lives and are making every effort to find a solution and bring back reasonably priced tomatoes.”
Backstory
The News Chronicles said earlier on Sunday that vendors in Lagos, Abuja, and other Nigerian marketplaces were charging as much as N140,000 and N150,000 for a basket of tomatoes, a price that had surged in the country’s markets in May.
The article stated that dealers ascribed the increase to normal seasonal variations in the amount of tomatoes produced.
They claimed that with the arrival of the nation’s wet season, the harvest season for the varieties of tomatoes currently on sale has practically ended.
According to TNC, as of April 2024, comparable food products were offered for between N50,000 and N100,000, showing a 100% increase in less than a month.
Things To Note
Tomato prices have increased significantly over the past year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) most recent Food Price Watch report for April.
According to the data, there was a 131.58% increase in the price of 1 kg of tomatoes between April 2023 and April 2024. This is a significant annual cost increase.
Furthermore, the analysis emphasizes a notable surge in tomato prices shortly.
In April 2024, the average cost of one kilogram of tomatoes increased by 17.06%.
This increase indicates that the price of this necessary good is still trending upward.
In a similar vein, SBM Intelligence recently conducted a study known as the Jollof Rice Index, which tracked the price of cooking Jollof rice in Nigeria’s major cities.
The index indicates a significant increase in the average cost of making this well-liked dish.
In particular, the price of cooking one regular serving of Jollof rice increased from N13,106 in October 2023 to N17,000 in March 2024.
Households throughout the country will be impacted by this increase in the price of components that are crucial to this traditional dish.
