The Managing-Director of Dangote Tomatoes Processing Plant in Kano, Mr Abdulkarim Lawal Kaita, has said that N3bn high-tech greenhouse nursery, capable of producing between 300 and 350 million tons of hybrid tomatoes seedlings has been established in Kano.
This is just as, the Managing-Director of the farm said the company’s new investment is capable of stopping the over $350m the Federal Government spends annually on the importation of processed tomatoes.
The farm which is fully automated, he said, is the largest and first of its kind in West Africa, adding that the farm is expected to enhance the economy of the local tomato farmers, as the technology is expected to increase their harvest from the current 10 tons per acre to as much as 40 tons per acre.
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According to him, the greenhouse nursery will facilitate increased production of high-quality seedlings which will support farmers for production of fresh tomatoes and locally made paste.
He, however, disclosed that the goal is to make Nigeria self- sufficient in tomatoes production.
He further disclosed that the country consumes 2.3 million tons of tomatoes paste, “but we have the capacity to produce eight million tons annually, exceeding local consumption. You can now imagine how much the country can make on foreign exchange.”
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