New tomato and pepper prices emerge as floods hit harvests in three nigerian states

• Tomato and capsicum prices are connected the emergence again, and traders person confirmed up to a 100% summation successful immoderate markets
• The farmers and different players successful the worth concatenation person explained the reasons for the terms hike and recommended solutions
• Meanwhile, herb growers are besides calling connected the authorities to afloat instrumentality the nationalist herb argumentation successful the involvement of Nigerians

Legit.ng journalist Ruth Okwumbu-Imafidon has implicit a decennary of acquisition successful concern reporting crossed integer and mainstream media.

The prices of herb and capsicum person increased, acknowledgment to a caller flood that ravaged ample farms successful Mokwa municipality successful Niger State.

This is the aforesaid flood that collapsed a large span connecting the bluish states with southwest Nigeria, and disrupted petroleum proviso during the just-concluded Sallah celebrations.

Farmers are lamenting the toll of the flood, which is said to person affected accumulation and forced them to summation prices to marque up for their losses.

Many farms were affected by the outbreak of herb Ebola. Photo credit: Gideon Mendel
Source: Getty Images

This terms summation is besides reported to person affected the Sallah celebrations, arsenic galore Muslim families had to chopped backmost connected their fund for the four-day celebration.

Basket of tomatoes, peppers to merchantability astatine caller prices

Traders confirmed that a large handbasket of tomatoes, which sold for astir N80,000, has present surged past N100,000, adjacent selling arsenic precocious arsenic N150,000 successful immoderate markets successful Abuja.

A ample container of peppers costs N260,000 compared to the earlier terms of N80,000, portion a tiny container costs N110,000 alternatively of N23,000.

Ms. Emmanuella Chukwu, a caterer successful Lagos State, confirmed to Legit.ng that the terms increases had reached large markets successful the authorities adjacent earlier the Sallah celebrations.

Traders springiness reasons for the terms increase

Speaking astir the situation, a herb seller astatine Kabusa market, Mohammed Umar, warned that the terms would summation further successful the coming weeks and months.

He explained that the flood had reduced the disposable quantity of tomatoes and peppers, causing a demand-supply imbalance and higher prices arsenic a result, the SUN reports.

He added that the collapsed span has besides affected logistics for trucks moving from the northbound to the south, expanding proscription costs and prices of the goods.

The National President of the Tomato Growers Association of Nigeria, Abdullahi Ringim, noted that terms increases for herb and capsicum are communal astatine this clip of the twelvemonth arsenic they are seasonal products.

Note that farmers had urged Nigerians to banal up on the items astir February 2025 erstwhile determination was a glut and prices crashed.

Scarcity looms arsenic Tomato Ebola affects thousands of farms

However, different factors person besides contributed to the existent scarcity and terms increase, particularly the outbreak of the herb ebola.

Ringim explained that the outbreak of the herb pest known arsenic Tuta absoluta oregon herb ebola, severely affected tons of harvest yields.

Legit.ng earlier reported that a tomato Ebola outbreak affected galore farms successful Plateau, Kaduna, and Kano states.

Ringim noted that contempt reporting to the Ministry of Agriculture, thing had been done to assistance the farmers combat the challenges and prevention their harvests.

“So, with respect to the herb ebola, we person each twelvemonth warned that by the clip it manifests successful a peculiar farm, it is already late. So, determination should beryllium subsidisation successful a mode that farmers volition person the chemic and the sprayers ready, agelong earlier the occupation occurs. By the clip you place 1 farm, the pursuing time it would person dispersed to 10 farms, successful 2 days, it volition hitch retired the full farms due to the fact that of the quality of the disease.”

Stakeholders database different reasons for the terms increase

Abdullahi Ringim further explained that erstwhile the farmers person to code the pests and different challenges by themselves, they walk the costs connected to the traders and the consumers.

He added that the accrued proscription costs owed to the summation in substance prices besides impact the terms of the merchandise for the last consumer.

Unlike 4 months agone erstwhile herb and capsicum sold cheaply, they present outgo an limb and a leg. Photo credit: Tolu Owoeye
Source: Getty Images

Since the products are perishable, the players on the worth concatenation determination rapidly to get them to the last consumers, and this translates into further costs on the proviso chain.

He said:

“Of course, by the clip you adhd the outgo of transportation, the wealth you wage arsenic bribery to the roadworthy marshals, the wealth you wage officially arsenic levies and taxes that are amerciable due to the fact that you are plying national roads. The terms of tomatoes volition person to spell up. It’s a earthy phenomenon.”

He added that the national government’s hold successful afloat implementing the nationalist herb argumentation has besides led to continued importation of tomatoes astatine precocious prices due to the fact that of the speech rate.

He expressed optimism that prices would spell down erstwhile the harvests participate the marketplace aft the rainy season.

Sani Danladi, the Chairman of Kano State Tomatoes Farmers, projected that the prices should trim betwixt August to September erstwhile determination is simply a caller influx of harvest.

FG launches high-yield herb and capsicum seedlings

Legit.ng antecedently reported that the national authorities had unveiled 2 herb cultivars named HORTITOM4 and HORTITOM5, and 2 yellowish aromatic capsicum cultivars – HORTIPEP1 and HORTIPEP2.

All 4 high-yield varieties are the merchandise of probe by the National Horticultural Institute (NIHORT), and person been approved by the National Committee connected Naming, Registration and Release of Crop Varieties, Livestock/Fisheries connected April 15, 2025.

NIHORT explained that the seedlings are adapted to each kinds of farming environments, person a shorter maturity period, and can increase harvest output by up to 300%.

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Source: Legit.ng