Tomatoes scarcity looms in Kano State as 4,621 hectares of farms in the state has been infested by Tuta absoluta.
Chairman, All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Kano State, Abdullahi Maibreadi has called on the government at all levels to assist farmers with standard insecticide to mitigate the scourge of the reoccurring infestation of Tuta absoluta that has been plaguing farmers for almost 12 years.
Maibreadi in an interview said the pest infested Tomato farms at Bagwai, Shanono, Kura, Garin Malam, Bebeji, Bunkure, Rano, Kibiya, parts of Tudun Wada and Dawakin Kudu local government areas of the state.
According to the chairman, if no concrete action is taken to salvage the situation within 2 weeks, farmers would incur the loss of about N10bn to N20bn in Kano.
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Maibreadi pointed out that, Tuta Absoluta otherwise called ‘Sharon’ in Hausa, plagued the farmers when they were at the verge of harvesting the crop.
“It has affected and burned many farms – When the disease drops on the tomato leaf, it becomes burned and when it touches the fruit, it becomes burned and then rots and becomes waste”, he explained.
Maibreadi stressed the need for the government to assist farmers with certified and climate-resistant seeds, noting that, Okro farmers were also affected by a similar outbreak in the last farming season.
The chairman urged farmers to desist from using substandard insecticide to avoid losses.