Gombe tomato farmers face tough times

Tomato and pepper farmers in Bula, a community in Akko Local Government Area of Gombe State, are reeling from the sudden collapse of tomato prices, by 90% in just two weeks.

During a visit to the Bula market on Thursday, September 12, 2024, it was observed that hundreds of baskets of tomatoes and bags of peppers were displayed for sale, but farmers were struggling to find buyers despite the drop in prices.

The cost of a large basket of tomato, which sold for N10,000 just two weeks ago, has now slumped to N1,000. Bell pepper (tattashe) has also seen a dramatic fall in price, with a bag now costing N10,000 against N40,000 two weeks earlier; a 75% drop.

The price of Scotch bonnet (hot pepper) has also dropped by over 65%, with a bag now going for N16,000 instead of N50,000.

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Alhaji Saleh Maikudi, Chairman of the Tomato Farmers Association in Bula, said the farmers are suffering heavy losses daily.

According to him, they lose N9,000 per basket of tomatoes, N30,000 per bag of bell peppers, and N34,000 per bag of hot peppers compared to prices a fortnight ago.

The 35-year-old farmer lamented that the sharp decline in prices has left farmers with no choice but to beg customers to purchase their produce, fearing massive post-harvest losses if the situation continued.

“We are appealing to both the federal and the Gombe State governments to help us by providing processing plants to reduce post-harvest wastes. If we can process and store the surplus tomatoes and peppers, we will avoid the scarcity that happened a few months ago,” Maikudi added.

Malam Khalifa Bello, Chairman of the Vegetables Sellers Association, also expressed concern over the financial losses suffered by their members.

He called on Governor Inuwa Yahaya of the state and private sector investors to support farmers by setting up mini-processing facilities to convert the excess tomatoes into paste or powder, which can be packaged and sold later.