‘How greenhouses can revolutionise farming in Nigeria’

Farmers in Kano, Kaduna, Jigawa, Nasarawa and Katsina states recently experienced an outbreak of a tomato disease called Tuta Absoluta virus which ravaged hundreds of hectares of tomato farms causing scarcity of the produce in Nigerian markets. Checks by Daily Trust suggest that farmers should abandon open field farming and go back to greenhouse.
However, looking at the cost involved in establishing a greenhouse which is pegged at between N1.5 and N 3million, the government and other key stakeholders should invest and possibly hire out to farmers just like hectares of land are hired out for the cultivation of vegetables such as tomatoes, bell pepper, cherry tomatoes and cucumber among others, to guarantee yield.
Daily Trust gathered that with the use of greenhouses rather than open field farming, Nigeria can achieve tomato sufficiency as well as export the commodity to other countries which will in turn increase the revenue of states and the country at large.
Speaking on the development, Yaqub Ibrahim, the Chief Executive Officer of Greenhouse Techniques, a company that provides turnkey projects in greenhouse farming, various types of seedlings both foreign and local, as well as irrigation systems for big and small farms, said greenhouses have the capacity to revolutionise farming in Nigeria.
He said the quality and quantity of crops grown in a greenhouse compared to open field farming are incomparable, especially in Nigeria, where farmers in open field do not pay attention to management in irrigation and fertiliser application.
“The common practice with tomato farmers is to apply NPK15:15:15 fertiliser from transplanting to harvest, this goes against the recommended practice which inevitably hinders desired result, whereas in the greenhouse it’s all about management,” Ibrahim explained, adding that greenhouses have an available market.
“Look at this scenario, sometime ago a basket of tomatoes was selling for less than N1,000 because of abundant supply, it then sold for N40,000, thank God the prices are coming down, so, a farmer can take advantage of the market with less losses,” he said.
Ibrahim said Rosalina indeterminate tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, baby cucumbers, bell peppers, sweet melons and watermelons are some of the crops that can be planted successfully in a greenhouse.
On the challenges of maintaining a greenhouse, he said: “The most challenging is the management and that is why we offer training to our clients on management, but it’s heart-aching when clients do not pay attention to it which leads to undesired results.”
But Ibrahim also highlighted some of the advantages of growing in a greenhouse.
“There are so many uncertainties in open field (farming) such as adverse weather conditions, excessive rainfall, outbreaks of uncontrollable diseases whereas in the greenhouse this is very minimal or non-existent, because water, temperature and disease are controlled to get the desired yield,” , he said.
The expert said his company has installed greenhouses along Kaduna Airport Road, Dumbi village on Kaduna – Zaria Expressway, Natsinta village in Katsina State, Jama’are, Lokogoma in Abuja, Minna, Mai adaua Daura, Yola, and Akilibu along Abuja-Kaduna Expressway.
Asked on the land requirement for a greenhouse, Ibrahim said the minimum greenhouse available is eight meters by 40 meters (320 sqms), adding that for every 320 sqms, a farmer gets between eight to 10 baskets of tomatoes weekly for a period of six to eight months, and advised government at all levels to key into the establishment of greenhouses.
“Nigeria has a population of over 180 million and of that population over 40 percent are youths, no country excels in development without engaging youths in its development programmes, government can build these greenhouses through the local governments or wards and train youths on how to manage the greenhouses,” he stated.
“A sharing formula can be structured in way that proceeds from the yields can be shared between the government and the engaged youths, thereby creating employment and generating revenue for the government, with time ownership can be transferred to those that are able to perform without default,” Ibrahim added.