We are yet to come across new improved seeds – Katsina tomato farmers

The Managing Director of the company, Mr Nnamdi Ukoko, had last month in an interview with Daily Trust claimed that they have in stock enough quantities of disease resistant, high yielding and early maturing varieties of tomato seeds that have been tried and certified by researchers in Nigeria.The farmers who suffered a huge set back […]

The Managing Director of the company, Mr Nnamdi Ukoko, had last month in an interview with Daily Trust claimed that they have in stock enough quantities of disease resistant, high yielding and early maturing varieties of tomato seeds that have been tried and certified by researchers in Nigeria.
The farmers who suffered a huge set back this year as a result of a plant disease (tutaabsoluta) that ravaged their tomato farms, have had to resort to combining different varieties of pesticides to at least mitigate the dreaded disease.
One of the farmers in Mairuwa, Funtua area, Aminu Idris said they hardly accept a new seedling without first testing it on small farms to ascertain its quality and yield.
“The most popular tomato seedling in use here is UC-82-B which is less watery and fleshy, making its transportation over long distances safer compared to other varieties like Roma VF that are softer and easily perishable.
“The risk involved in tomato farming, its transportation to far away Lagos, Ibadan or the East as well as the demands of the markets will not allow us to change our seedling variety overnight, without testing it at least for one to two years,” he said.
He added that they hardly dealt directly with the agro companies or their agents, that rather they bought their seedlings and other agro products from open markets in Funtua, Zaria and sometimes Kano.
Idris further said that farmers would gladly accept the new seed if they were of UC-82-B variety due to its high demand in the southern markets.
Another farmer in Dandume who lost his tomato harvest worth over N2 million to the disease, Alhaji Nasiru Dantankari, said they would not hesitate to give the new improved seed a trial when they accessed it.
“We are yet to come across the new varieties of the seed and I assure you we will not hesitate to try it or any solution capable of combating the menace of disease,” he said.
He also called on Bicco Agro Company to distribute their new products to dealers in the markets so that farmers can access them.
This reporter went round Funtua and Bakori markets where agro products’ dealers also said they are yet to come across the new seedlings, with Alhaji Rufa’i Yellow a seedlings and pesticides dealer saying he sourced for seeds from Zaria and Kano and that most often, the input company agents provided them with samples of new seeds to distribute to farmers to plant and see the yield so as to decide for themselves.
“Bicco Agro Product Company should come down here and market their products to us and the farmers; it is only when the new varieties are widely accepted among the farmers that we follow them to their base, buy and plant,” he said.