Olam begins pilot tomato farming

• Enlists 100 farmers in Kano, Jigawa

Olam Nigeria Limited has gone into commercial tomato production with a pilot farming presently taking place in Kano and Jigawa states.

Olam is a food and agri-business company, majorly interested in cashew, sesame, cotton, cocoa and rice production, but in an exclusive interview with Daily Trust on Sunday, its vice president, Farming Initiatives, Mr. Reji George, said the company is now going into tomato farming. He said that already, more than 100 farmers have been engaged as out-growers to farm the produce for the company, beginning from this tomato cropping year.

Mr. George, however, said the farming would still be at a pilot stage to monitor the viability of the new initiative. He said that at the end of the harvest, the company would buy up the produce from the out-growers, check the quantity and the quality and see the areas to be improved upon before going into full cultivation.

Asked if there is a plan to establish a tomato processing plant thereafter, Mr George simply said, “Everything is still at a pilot stage, please.”

He commended Daily Trust on Sunday for its robust agric reportage, noting that the sector is now receiving appreciable attention, not only from the authorities but from residents.