The Tomatoes and Orchard Producers Association of Nigeria (TOPAN) has called for decentralization of tomato production to boost sustainability and market growth. Recently, TOPAN president Oyeleke Bola made this call. He noted that the sector requires government intervention as Nigeria, despite being the largest producer of tomatoes in West Africa, cannot feed local consumption efficiently and is yet to attract 5 percent investment to itself.
“We need to decentralize our production and not just limit it to certain regions, the government should check out for other possible regions where tomatoes can do well, this would bring about industrialization, value addition, investors, and business opportunities,” he said.
Bola also urged the government to focus more on bringing processing industries close to the farm and see how processing can begin from the farm gate.
Source: businessamlive.com