"LEAFMINER" INFESTATION: Kaduna Declares State Of Emergency On Tomato; 80% Of Kaduna Tomatoes Ravaged By Disease, Says El-Rufai

Tomato blight is ravaging crops in Kaduna State

Kaduna State government has declared a state of emergency on tomato following an attack of tomato blight that has wiped out about 80 percent of tomato farms in the state. 

Daily Trust report continues:

The Commissioner for Agriculture and Forestry in the state, Dr. Manzo Daniel, disclosed this during a press briefing to mark the administration's one year in office. DailyTrust learnt that the cost of a basket of tomato has risen to about ₦42,000 in Kaduna.

"The tomato blight is caused by an insect called the "leafminer", scientifically called tuta absoluta. What it does is to eat up the tomato leaves and the soft parts. Unfortunately for us, this infestation occurred last year on a smaller scale but it was not documented. And when we came in, we didn't know about it until it hit us hard,"

"A team of officials have been dispatched to Kenya to seek intervention. We have it on authority that there is an extract of a plant that is effective against the developing stages of the moth. Unfortunately, the adults are not susceptible to any chemical, if you spray them, within three hours, they develop resistance. It is a serious issue and we have had to declare a state of emergency on the commodity. To underscore the seriousness of the infestation, the Dangote Tomato factory in Kano has shut down due to lack of raw materials," he lamented.

According to him, survey is ongoing, as over 200 farmers have been identified in three local government areas of the state with loses to the tune of ₦1billion. "We expect our partners from Kenya to move in quickly and we are developing intervention strategy for immediate, short and long term," he said, adding that about eight other states in the northern region are affected by the disease.

80% Of Kaduna Tomatoes Ravaged By Disease, Says El-Rufai

The Punch reports that the Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai on Monday said 80 per cent of the tomato produced in the state had been ravaged by pests and diseases.

Specifically, the governor declared a state of emergency in tomato production in the state, saying all hands must be on deck to combat various pests and diseases ravaging tomato.

A species of moth attacks the leaves of tomato to cause a disease condition called ‘tuta absoluta’.

The larva produced by the moth feed voraciously upon tomato plants, causing a yield loss of 100 per cent.

El-Rufai said tomato had been destroyed in three local government areas of the state with a loss of ₦1bn monthly.

The governor spoke through his Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr. Manzo Maigari.

He said some officials of the state ministry of agriculture had been sent to Kenya in order to learn how to combat the menace, adding that over 200 farmers had lost tomato produce to pests and diseases.

He said, “I want to say that Governor Nasir el-Rufai has declared a state of emergency in tomato production in the state. This is as a result of the invasion of the crop by a pest botanically known as ‘Tuta Absoluta’.

“In the past one month, 12 LGAs of the state that produce tomato have lost 80 per cent of its harvest. In three LGAs, about 200 farmers have lost ₦1bn worth of their tomato. So you can imagine the magnitude of the loss.

“It is so severe that even Dangote, who has established a tomato processing plant in Kano, had to shut down production.

“The problem with the disease, which is caused by a moth, is that no amount of spraying will kill the larva of the moth. You spray it, after about three hours, it comes back to life. So, we have sent some of our officials to travel to Kenya and meet our partners. Kenya has a good advantage over us on this issue.

“We understand that they use a plant extract to take care of this problem. But we do not have that knowledge yet. We expect them to return very soon with short and medium-term solutions.”

El-Rufai also said that the state would vaccinate seven million livestock in the state to secure both man and animal from infections.

He noted that about 63 per cent of all diseases that infect man were transmitted by animals, adding that that was the reason why his administration was doing all it could to vaccinate cats, dogs, horses and poultry in order to protect man.

He said: “About 63 per cent of all diseases that infect man are transmitted by animals. So vaccinating cats, dogs, horses and even poultry, is to protect man.

“Not long ago, a professor at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, was bitten by a dog and he died of rabies infection. We have received several cases of dog bites because in the past 20 years there has been no vaccination in the state.”