Oh my God! ‘Tomato Ebola’ hits six states in Nigeria- Federal Government

The Federal Government on Tuesday said the pest,

Tuta absoluta, popularly known as ‘Tomato Ebola’, which is responsible for the massive destruction of tomato in farmlands, had invaded six states in Nigeria.

It also disclosed that Nigeria spent about N80bn ($400m) annually importing tomato paste, adding that many of the imported products were substandard.

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr. Audu Ogbeh, who said this during a press briefing in Abuja, stated that the report that tomato processing factories had mopped-up tomato fruits in Nigeria was unfounded and untrue.

According to him, the highly reproductive nature of the tomato pest coupled with the favourable environment and lack of management knowledge for containment resulted in its spread like a wild fire without any challenge.

 This development had led to the destruction of tomato fruits in Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Kaduna, Plateau and Lagos.

Ogbeh, however, stated that the Federal Government had started consulting with states and experts in other to fashion out measures to tackle the pest.