The National Tomato Growers, Processors, and Marketers Association of Nigeria (NATPAN) has called on the federal government to intervene in addressing post-harvest losses within the tomato sector. In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday, Mr. Rabiu Zuntu, Chairman of NATPAN’s Kaduna State chapter, stressed the critical need for government action to reduce such losses.
Zuntu explained that equipping farmers with the right tools and facilities would significantly minimize these losses, helping to boost value addition and foster growth in the sector. He emphasised that many tomato farmers are smallholders who lack the financial means to purchase the necessary equipment for post-harvest handling.
Zuntu highlighted the use of plastic crates as a viable solution to reduce post-harvest losses during transportation. He noted that using plastic crates would be particularly beneficial when moving tomatoes across Nigeria, especially from the north to other regions, as it would significantly lower loss rates during transit.
The association is working with various partners to help smallholder farmers by introducing mechanisation and improving processing facilities. Zuntu revealed that partnerships with local processors, along with the introduction of tomato processing machines, would help mitigate the annual glut of tomatoes between January and February, adding value and improving farmers’ incomes.
Zuntu also mentioned that non-governmental organizations have introduced solar dryers as a method for preserving tomatoes, with farmers showing interest in adopting this technology. However, the high cost of these dryers has made them inaccessible to many farmers. To address this, the association is organising farmers into clusters to pool resources and purchase the dryers, thus reducing losses.
Zuntu reiterated the urgent need for government intervention to further support these initiatives and ensure the long-term sustainability of the tomato farming sector in Nigeria.
