The Federal Government has been called upon by the Managing Director, Dangote Tomato Processing plant in Kadawa, Kano State, Abdulkarim Kaita, to put a total ban on the importation of tomato paste into the country.

According to reports, he made the call while flagging off the distribution of tomato seedlings to 5,000 farmers under the Anchor Borrowers Programme of the Central Bank of Nigeria on Thursday at Kadawa village in Kura Local Government Area.

“We are appealing to the Federal Government to put a total ban on the importation of tomato like what it did to rice,” Kaita said.

He added that the call was necessary to boost local production of the commodity and ensure that Nigeria was self-sufficient in tomato production.

He further added that the ban on the importation of tomato paste would lead to the establishment of more tomato processing plants, thereby creating job opportunities for many people in the country.

He lamented that the importation of tomato paste was still thriving as the commodity was being imported from Cameroon and Cotonou in Benin Republic.