Olam Nigeria’s Pilot Farming Project To Boost Nigeria’s Tomato Value Chain

February 26 00:03 2020 by The Ajasa News Print This Article

By Benjamin Omoike, Lagos

In line with the Federal Government of Nigeria’s initiative to attain self-sufficiency in tomato production and processing, Olam, a leading player in the Nigerian agriculture value chain, recently embarked on a pilot farming project in the country. 

Executing the project through its subsidiary, Caraway Africa Nigeria Ltd, it acquired 20 hectares of land for this purpose and set up farms in Karfi, Kano State, as well as Masama and Guri, both located in Jigawa State. 
The farms are solely dedicated to the production of tomatoes.

While the tomatoes were transplanted in October 2019, harvest commenced in February 2020. Reji George, Olam Nigeria’s Vice President in charge of Farming Initiatives, said preliminary results point to a bountiful harvest.

He stated that each of the farms were on course to produce 30 metrics tons of tomato per hectare, as against the 7.5 metric tons per hectare which is Nigeria’s average yield for tomato.

Reji added that the commercial pilot farming initiative, which Olam is embarking upon through Caraway Africa Nigeria, is a precursor to a backward integration project for tomato paste production, which will commence in March 2021.

He stated that a major challenge confronting the production of tomatoes in Nigeria is a lack of good variety of seeds to buy. Another problem is extremely poor yields as low tomato production leads to higher prices, thereby making it unattractive for processors to purchase. 

These challenges, he adds, are also linked to the unwillingness of farmers to produce tomatoes in large quantity, because they want to avoid product decay and losses because of lack of proper storage and preservation facilities.

Addressing the challenge of poor tomato seeds, Reji said Olam has signed an MOU with the World Vegetable Centre, a globally renowned research institute and prominent seed producer and developer, for the supply of 18 varieties of seeds, exclusively for Caraway Africa Nigeria. 

He added: “We have also decided to go for an additional eight varieties of hybrid tomato seeds already existing in Nigeria, which have a higher yield potential, but which the farmers are not using because of the cost. We have selected tomato seed varieties which produce fresh tomatoes as well as the variants which are good for tomato processing.”