The Kano State Chairman of All Farmers Association of Nigeria, AFAN, Abdullahi Maibreadi has called on the government at all levels to assist farmers with standard insecticide to mitigate the scourge of the reoccurring infestation of tuta absoluta for almost 12 years.
The chairman made the call during an interview with Radio Nigeria in Kano.
According to him, the pest has infected tomato farms at Bagwai, Shanono, Kura, Garin Malam, Bebeji, Bunkure, Rano, Kibiya, part of tudun wada and dawakin kudu local government areas of the State.
Maibreadi explained that AFAN’s findings from across the localities show that 4,621 hectares of tomato farms worth N1bn are currently affected by the disease, emphasizing that if nothing is done to salvage the situation in the next one to two weeks, farmers would incur the loss of about N10bn to N20bn in Kano.
The Chairman pointed out that, Tuta Absoluta otherwise called Sharon in Hausa, has on reoccurring for the past 12 years despite farmer’s efforts to see they overcome it.
“Unfortunately it was after most of the farmers had finished spending and it started fruiting and close to harvesting, then the outbreak of the disease,”according to him.
He hinted that the infestation of tuta absoluta for almost 12 years has become a point of concern to many farmers, a development he said is making farmers think of quitting.
” It has affected and burned many farms – When the disease drops on the tomato leaf, it becomes burned and when it touches the fruit, it becomes burned and then rots and becomes waste”
Maibreadi stressed the need for the government to assist farmers with certified and climate-resistant seeds, saying that, Okro farmers were also affected by a similar outbreak in the last farming season.
“We as farmers don’t have the power to get those farms’ inputs but since the government have collaborated with international companies, they can buy and resell or subsidise it for farmers to avoid this kind of huge loss which further affects the economy of the country,”he said.
The Chairman urged farmers to desist from using substandard insecticide to avoid loss.
Cov/Khadija Aliyu.
