Kukumi farmers preserve tomatoes locally

The famers in their hundreds now preserve the commodity in an open field, along Zaria/Kano road. They slice and dry it in the field for it to dry. It days for the commodity to get dried and fit for preservation. When our correspondent visited the area, the farmers were seen in both sides of the road […]

The famers in their hundreds now preserve the commodity in an open field, along Zaria/Kano road. They slice and dry it in the field for it to dry. It days for the commodity to get dried and fit for preservation.
 When our correspondent visited the area, the farmers were seen in both sides of the road drying the commodity. Kukumi land is suitable for the cultivation of all brands of tomatoes hence, tomato is  farmers delight in the area.
In the village, farmers cultivate the crop throughout the dry season. This is the season of the crop in Kukumi in fact, but, rather than making brisk business, the farmers are counting their losses, no thanks to lack of storage facility or processing plant.
From N1, 200 weeks ago, a basket of tomato now goes for N300 in Kukumi and it is cheap everywhere. While many farmers in the village are willing to part with their hard earned basket of tomatoes for N300, others are drying it for a time the price will appreciate.
Regrettably, even with mass farming of the commodity and the low price in Kukumi and its environs, annually, the country spends N16 billion on the importation of tomato paste, according to the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, recently.
He said there is deficit in the supply of tomato required in the country, leading to huge annual importation of tomato paste into the country.
“The demand for tomato is currently estimated at 2.3 million metric tonnes per annum, while the output is 1.8 million metric tonnes. Due to lack of good storage facilities and poor developed marketing channels, up to 50 per cent of the tomato produced is lost,” he said.
In an interview, Hashiru Awal, 25, a farmer in Kukumi, said for many years they have been experiencing glut in the production of the commodity, adding, however, that they cannot quit the business because farming is the main occupation of the people  in Kukumi.
He said: “I was born here in Kukumi and farming is what I inherited from my parents. While many of my friends are leaving to urban centres in search of greener pasture, I decided to remain here and in this trade because one day the business will change.”
A leader of the farmers, Bako Kukumi, said they decided to be slicing the tomatoes because of the sudden fall in its price.
“We are drying it because, suddenly, the price of the crop just came down from N2, 000 to N300. If we have buyers now, we will stop slicing it because we want to sale it and use the money for other businesses,” he said.
Lamenting the lack of government’s support, he said the farmers have the capacity to meet the tomatoes need of the people of Kaduna State but lack of support is hindering their performance.
He said: “We don’t receive any support from government. We want the government to come to our rescue by establishing a processing plant here in Kukumi. If this is done, we will be happy and the country will be better for it.”