Kano State Deputy Governor, Dr Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna, on Saturday confirmed that Kano State Government would continue to device new ways to curb post-harvest loss in tomato value-chain.
While addressing participants at the Round-table Policy Discussion on Post-Harvest Loss Reduction in the Tomato Value-Chain, held at Africa House, Yusuf Gawuna, disclosed that the State is currently assisting farmers toward acquiring more knowledge, on the new techniques of tomato production.
“Dangote is partnering with our farmers. What we did is to make our farmers more knowledgeable enough, on the aspect of tomato production and the ways to overcome the challenges of post-harvest loss. To this end, Kano is doing very well through the collective efforts of all the stakeholders.
” I can confirm that in the last two years, the price of fresh tomatoes has been fairly stable. In January, 2019, a basket of fresh tomatoes sold at N2,069 and similarly, in 2020, emerging prices is N2,970 at the onset of the season and has remained fairly stable too ” Gawuna revealed.
Also, the Deputy Governor, pointed out that during the periods Kano State did not record any major pest and diseases outbreak, stressing that the State had promoted the use of post-harvest technologies, such as zero energy cool chamber and reusable plastic crates to improve small farmers productivity.
Gawuna who also doubles, as the State Commissioner, Ministry for Agriculture and Natural Resources, disclosed that the current administration under the leadership of Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje is committed in training and retraining farmers, at all levels, aimed at enhancing higher productivity.
He described the gathering as timely, and assured of the government’s continue support for the sustenance of the programme, considering its importance in enhancing Agricultural production.
” I want to assure you that our policies will continue to create more impacts on agricultural production, right from cultivation, up to the stage of processing and marketing ” he stated.
Earlier in her remarks, the Deputy Country Director of Technoserve Nigeria, Ayokanmi Ayuba, explained that the discussion was organized to address the challenges of post- harvest loss reduction in the tomato value-chain.
“The goal of YieldWise Project, is to reduce post-harvest loss by 50 per cent throughout the tomato supply chain and increase average tomato income for 45,000 participating farmers by 50 per cent. The project will include farmers in the ‘tomato triangle’ region, including Kano, Jigawa, Katsina, Kaduna and Plateau States ” Ayokanmi explained.
She acknowledged the tremendous contributions of Kano State government, towards the progress of the programme, expressing hope that the tempo would be sustained.
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Also, Ayuba thanked the State Deputy Governor, Dr. Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna for his commitment and support towards the sustainability of the programme.
Participants were drawn particularly from the tomato triangle region, with Kano State as the host.
