By; BASHIR BELLO, Abuja
Participants of a one-day National Tomatoes Stakeholders Committee Meeting, have pushed for the creation of an enabling environment that will ensure the 13 million metric tonnes need for just three major vegetables, tomatoes, onions and okro is met.
This was contained in the communique issued at the end of the meeting, jointly signed by Dr. Abiola Oke and Dr Olaide Aderibigbe, made available after the meeting in Abuja on Tuesday February 22, 2023.
“The meeting had in attendance 49 stakeholders, which comprised government officials, Horti Nigeria, farmers, and stakeholders of the agro industry, with the mandate to bridge the gap, to Nigerian to make a local market a demand of vegetables and to meet the estimated gap of 13 million metric tonnes for just three major vegetables which are Tomatoes, Onions and Okro,” it said.
According to the communique, in the year 2017, the Nigerian government released the policy that will increase domestic production and discouraged importation of tomatoes for the growth of local production that will meet local consumers by imposing tax on importation of the product.
“There are four objectives which were listed and also the theory of enhancing the promotion and adoption of Eco efficient production system that will facilitate improvef access to the use of adequate Agro target.
“Horti Nigeria has four components and the components is what we all capitalized on as we are here today.
“It is all about implementing and sustaining policy review to restate challenge in the tomatoes value chain from production to consumers and also to increase investment by SMEs to solve value chain bottlenecks.
“To create advocacy, to improve enabling environment for multicultural Value Chain, to strengthen and support existing platform, proffer business to business partnership,” it explained.
The communique explained that Horti Nigeria also has a partnership model, by which they provide training, recommend fertilizer and provide market for partners and provide sellable fertilizer to tomatoes farmers.
“There are four objective which were listed and also the theory of enhance the statement of promotion and adoption of Eco efficient production system that will facilitate improve access to the use of adequate Agro target,” it said.
Horti Nigeria also has a partnership model, by providing training, recommending fertilizer and providing market for partners and provide sellable fertilizer to tomatoes farmers.
“The organization is partnering with Candel and others and also established trials for entrepreneurs course,” it added.
Investment opportunities in the multicultural sector among the opportunity mentioned are, Agro logistics, transformative market, Agropackaging and sellable fertilizer production among others.
Constraint highlighted at the meeting, include, lack of proper coordination within the multicultural sector, to identity and address the bottlenecks and difference in norms and ability economic scale, and also lack of access to established business to business linkage, and having access to quality fertilizer.
Horti Nigeria is to discuss the engagement of the stakeholders to identity and resolve challenges that hinder the multicultural sectors, and advocacy to improve enabling environment for multicultural value chain,
Several group within the sector are working hard to remove the hindrance within the tomatoes value chain and also trying to identity the areas of working together with government officials and stakeholders for good.
Horti Nigeria is trying to advance a platform to coordinating natural strategies in control of pest and other diseases outbreak, also to implement a functional working committee that will meet periodically and respond to national issues affecting tomatoes production.
The meeting was organized by Horti Nigeria and NIHORT and the theme was, “Tomatoes Value Chain and Outstanding Challenges and Sustainable Solution.”
