Wondering what Tomato Ebola is and why it is bringing in scarcity?
Tomato Ebola tearing down crops is hardly new. In 2016, there was an instance of this in Kaduna state. At the time, a basket load of tomatoes went up to ₦42,000 from mere ₦1,500 that used to be the cost before the outbreak.
Marking the first year of a new government in office today hasn’t particularly brought any joy to households, judging by the costly price they now buy tomatoes, which is needed to prepare most Nigerian meals, including special delicacies like Jollof rice.
The reason for the hike is what the Agriculture Minister Senator Abubakar Kyari has described as Tomato Ebola, in a tweet he posted on X on Children’s Day. It is an outbreak that is caused by a species of moth of South American origin known as Tuta absoluta – this insect is known to feed on tomato plants, hence leading to the low harvest Nigerian farmers are experiencing with the planting season drawing to a close because of the rains starting.
ALSO READ: Why Lagos might soon run out of red tomatoes
While presenting his ministry’s performance or achievements after up to a year in office, Senator Kyari was challenged by an X profile who pointed out that tomatoes were getting costlier under him. Now, a basket of the red vegetables goes for ₦150,000. That is a drastic rise compared to an average of ₦60,000 for a basket in April.
The explanation for this sudden rise is what the agriculture minister tried to explain in a Monday, 27 May tweet.
A significant number of our tomato farms have been affected by a severe infestation known as Tomato Ebola or Tomato Leaf Miner. This has drastically reduced the availability of tomatoes and contributed to rising costs, says Senator Abubakar Kyari.
While such an occurrence is so inconvenient with the food stress, the minister insisted that our ministry is taking immediate action to combat this issue.
He said that we are deploying agricultural experts to affected areas to contain and eliminate the infestation. Additionally, we are supporting our farmers with the necessary resources and guidance to recover their crops as quickly as possible, just as we instituted the Ginger Blight Control Taskforce.
A significant number of our tomato farms have been affected by a severe infestation known as Tomato Ebola or Tomato Leaf Miner. This has drastically reduced the availability of tomatoes and contributed to rising costs.
Our ministry is taking immediate action to combat this… https://t.co/P5h8k8oFCa
— Sen. Abubakar Kyari, CON (@SenatorAKyari) May 27, 2024
Well, it seems that Tomato Ebola tearing down crops is hardly new. In 2016, there was an instance of this in Kaduna state. At the time, a basket load of tomatoes went up to ₦42,000 from mere ₦1,500 that used to be the cost before the outbreak.
We have declared a state of emergency over the outbreak of a moth that has destroyed over 80% of tomato farms in the state, the Kaduna state agriculture commissioner, Manzo Daniel while chatting to AFP.
Marking the severity, the commissioner hinted that this is only the beginning of a disaster if we don’t take drastic measures because the disease is fast spreading across the north.
Sadly, this event set the template or the precedence for the future hike of the crop that Nigerians now see as having broken pricing bars. Like the bird that has finally seen new skies, taming the price of tomatoes to remain low ever since has yielded a challenge which has pushed the cost of making specials like Jollof to a very high side.
Although the government has committed to reversing the exceedingly burdensome spike, not many are holding their breath. Yet it would be interesting to doubters who believe the price of commodities when they go up in Nigeria can never come down.
If the minister of agriculture can keep his word about immediate action to arrest the worsening state of things and keep food inflation down, maybe it will birth positivity that other foods going off the rail would see their cost reduced significantly.
As it stands, getting the price of ₦150,000 basket of tomatoes to come down quickly feels like a reach.
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Ayodelé is a Lagos-based journalist and the Content and Editorial Coordinator at Meiza. All around the megacity, I am steering diverse lifestyle magazine audiences with ingenious hacks and insights that spur fast, informed decisions in their busy lives.
