Tuta Absoluta: How we saved Gombe tomato farms – Commissioner

Gombe State Commissioner for Agriculture, Alhaji Dahiru Buba Biri, has said the ministry took drastic measures that saved many tomato farms from the tuta absoluta pests that affected some farms in the state.  Daily Trust had reported how the pests affected some tomato farms in the state which cause scarcity and astronomical rise in the […]

Gombe State Commissioner for Agriculture, Alhaji Dahiru Buba Biri, has said the ministry took drastic measures that saved many tomato farms from the tuta absoluta pests that affected some farms in the state. 

Daily Trust had reported how the pests affected some tomato farms in the state which cause scarcity and astronomical rise in the price of the commodity. 

Speaking to our correspondent, the commissioner said the pests affected five farms in two out of the 11 local government areas of the state. 

“In Gombe, we plant tomatoes in virtually each of the 11 LGAs. With major tomato farming areas in Yamaltu Deba, Funakaye, Kwami, Akko, and Nafada LGAs. While the pests affected only five farms in two LGAs of Akko and Yamaltu Deba,” the commissioner said. 

Alhaji Dahiru Biri said some of the immediate measures taken by the ministry of agriculture is teaching the farmers how to control the pest from spreading further to other farms. 

“When the incident was reported to the ministry, we called the farmers through their associations and taught them the early signs of the tuta absoluta, so that they will notice when the pests begin to attack their farms, and they are doing very well. 

“Because they were ignorance that’s is why it took long before they realize what was happening at their farms. These are some of the steps we have taken to ensure that it doesn’t go beyond the affected farms,” he added. 

The commissioner said, the scarcity of the tomato is not unusual because farmers have sold the tomatoes harvested during dry season farming while the wet season farming has not yet begun. 

He said: “The scarcity of tomato in the state has nothing to do with the tuta absoluta. This is a common experience after every dry season farming. And with the increase demand by people from Lagos and Kano this year, because we have opened up the market, and now people are coming to buy the tomatoes from the farmers in large quantity.”