The Federal Institute of Industrial Research, Oshodi (FIIRO) is taking the lead in the effort to reduce post harvest losses and wastage in Nigeria, particularly for the tomato crop which suffers a 40 percent loss, valued at N72 billion annually, between farm and market.
This follows on the heels of a bigger business venture by Dansa tomato processing company which in 2015 started test running its 1,200 metric tonne tomato plant in Kadawa, Kano State and has announced operations will be fully launched this month.
These projects and the few other existing ones will increase local processing capacity, create jobs, save scarce foreign exchange.
FIIRO, in collaboration with Avalanche, a UK equipment manufacturing company, has designed a tomato paste processing plant which the UK company has been commissioned to build and deliver for operation in Kano, capital of Kano state in northern Nigeria, under a Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement.
The newly designed plant to be delivered next month (March) is being built with the expectation that other investors will follow suit and deploy replicas in different states of the country.
The revelation comes on the heels of reports of a tomato glut is some northern states, particularly Katsina, where earlier this month, prices dropped from N5,000 to N300 per big basket , which weighs about 45 kg.
BusinessDay had reported that a big basket of tomatoes weighing about 45kg, was sold for as much as N8,000 last December, dropping to N4, 000 in January.
James Mordi, a Senior Researcher at FIIRO told BusinessDay that the plant, with a processing capacity of 200 kilograms of tomato per hour, is sited in Kano where a building for the purpose already exists.
There are also plans for an alternative arrangement in which independent farmers will deliver their produce into a pool, from where the stock will be moved to the processing plant.
Mordi also explained that FIIRO is in the process of organising training programmes for some tomato farmers, on how to add value to their farm produce in order to reduce wastage.
According to him, FIIRO has the processing technology that can be adapted in even very rural areas, to at least add value to preserve farm produce.
Estimates of post-harvest food losses in developing countries such as Nigeria from mishandling, spoilage and pest infestation have been put as high as 40% (other estimates exceed this, particularly when broken down in a crop by crop analysis), implying almost half of what is produced never reaches the consumer, while also constituting a loss to the farmers.
Lateef Sanni, a professor at the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, in an interview with BusinesDay had also lamented poor storage facilities in Nigeria, which has often led to food loss, also resulting in financial challenges for farmers across the country.
A research paper published by Bolarin, F.M. and Bosa, S.O. last year described Nigeria as a country rich in a great supply of agricultural products but undermined by post-harvest losses.
The authors stated “Majority of our farm produce are lost to pest, rodents, and deterioration, due to lack of proper post- harvest process and storage. The major problems are improper handling, lack of proper storage and packaging.”
The World Resource Institute in a 2013 report also stated “Food loss and waste have many negative economic and environmental impacts.
Economically, they represent a wasted investment that can reduce farmers’ incomes and increase consumers’ expenses. Environmentally, food loss and waste inflict a host of impacts, including unnecessary greenhouse gas emissions and inefficiently used water and land, which in turn can lead to diminished natural ecosystems and the services they provide.”
Nigeria has an annual demand of 2.3 million metric tonnes of tomatoes. Production stands at 1.8 million metric tonnes, 40 percent of which is lost to wastage, leaving a short fall of 1.22 million metric tonnes.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), tomatoes constitutes 18 percent of all vegetables consumed by Nigerians.
Caleb Ojewale
