FG Finally Identifies Reasons Tomato Prices Increased By 300%, Introduces High-Yield Seedlings

• In May 2024, a big basket of tomatoes sold for as high as N150,000, a huge deviation from the previous price of N10,000
• The federal government has now identified the reasons behind the spike in prices, which fuelled the already worrisome inflation
• The government has also taken steps to prevent a repeat by introducing new tomato species for the farmers

Legit.ng journalist Ruth Okwumbu-Imafidon has over a decade of experience in business reporting across digital and mainstream media.

Pest infestations remain a recurring issue for Nigerian farmers, causing significant losses despite their time and resources invested in the planting season.

The federal government has confirmed that Nigeria lost over N1.3 billion due to the outbreak of Tuta absoluta, also known as Tomato Ebola or the tomato leaf miner, in three states.

Federal Minister of Agriculture, Abubakar Kyari, disclosed that the pest outbreak in Kano, Katsina, and Kaduna resulted in huge losses, eventually causing a spike in tomato prices.

Tomato prices surge past 300% in Nigeria

A recent survey from Legit.ng showed that a bag of tomatoes had risen to N45,000 from N21,000.

This marked a 100% price increase from February to March 2025.

The agricultural minister disclosed in his speech that the price of a 50kg basket of tomatoes surged from the range of N5000 to N10,000, eventually reaching N30,000.

He noted that this situation contributed to the food inflation in the country and the cost-of-living crisis arising from strained household budgets.

Kyari made this known during the ongoing four-day capacity-building workshop for financial institutions on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, in Abuja, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

Farmers lose N1.3bn as tomato Ebola spreads

Explaining how tomato Ebola spreads, Kyari said that the invasive pest could spread and destroy tomato crops within 48 hours, causing the farmers catastrophic losses.

Kyari lamented that this incident exposed the fragility of Nigeria’s horticultural system and highlighted the urgent need for advanced pest management strategies.

The agriculture minister pointed out that investments are needed to support the farmers, as well as the different players along the food supply chain, while also ensuring food security.

He added that the demand for horticultural crops like cucumbers, tomatoes, citrus, pineapples, and plantains is high, earning them an impressive position among commercial crops and enabling the farmers to earn incomes outside the traditional grain cycles.

He added that investing in horticulture is critical to ending malnutrition and preventing disease, as the crops are known to be rich sources of vitamins A, C, iron, zinc, and folate nutrients vital for child development and maternal health.

FG urges banks, others to support farmers

The federal government has sent a message to banks and other financial institutions, urging them to develop tailored financial products for farmers, in line with their needs at specific stages.

Kyari encouraged them to study and understand the horticulture value chain from seed to shelf, and develop fit-for-purpose financial products, including seasonal credit lines, equipment leasing, invoice discounting, and trade financing to support the farmers.

FG unveils high-yield tomato, pepper seedlings

Legit.ng previously reported that the federal government had unveiled two tomato cultivars named HORTITOM4 and HORTITOM5, and two yellow aromatic pepper cultivars – HORTIPEP1 and HORTIPEP2.

All four high-yield varieties are the product of research by the National Horticultural Institute (NIHORT), and have been approved by the National Committee on Naming, Registration and Release of Crop Varieties, Livestock/Fisheries on April 15, 2025.

NIHORT explained that the seedlings are adapted to all kinds of farming environments, have a shorter maturity period, and can increase crop yield by up to 200%.

Proofreading by James Ojo, copy editor at Legit.ng.

Source: Legit.ng