World Bank assures Plateau farmers on eradication of “Tuta Absoluta’’

The World Bank, through the FADAMA III Additional Financing (AF) project, has pledged support for Plateau farmers in efforts to eradicate Tuta Absoluta, a pest currently ravaging tomato farms across the state.

Gideon Dandam, the FADAMA III (AF) Coordinator in Plateau State, made the promise in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Friday.

He noted that tomato farming had been a major occupation of farmers in the state, adding that the tomato farmers had also been exposed to various ways of addressing or controlling diseases during cropping.

Dandam, however, said that the FADAMA III AF project had scaled up the farmers’ understanding of the application of best agronomic practices, adding that the knowledge led to the expansion of their farms due to the seeds they were expecting.

“They were, however, caught unawares by the Tuta Absoluta pest because it has never affected their farmlands in the past; they only hear news of the pest on radio and television.

“When I received the report, I rushed to some farms to assess the level of damage which Tuta Absoluta, the tomato disease, had caused.

“What I discovered left me discouraged; as I helplessly looked at the resources, which the World Bank, the federal and state governments have expended on efforts to help the farmers come out of poverty, being destroyed,’’ he said.

Dandam said that he had directed some agronomists to engage farmers and advise them on ways to attract collaboration with agencies and institutions to provide solutions that would mitigate the effect of Tuta Absoluta on their farms.
“I quickly reported the situation to the FADAMA National Coordination Office, Abuja; immediate action was taken and some officials were sent to assess the situation.

“We have funded about 2,090 farmers to cultivate one hectare of tomato each in the 2017 dry season farming; it is discouraging that the Tuta Absoluta pest is destroying our efforts,’’ he said.

The coordinator also said that some tomato farmers in Plateau had partaken in a train-the-trainers workshop in Kano to empower them to assist other farmers in efforts to contain the tomato disease.

“The state government is also looking at ways of eradicating this disease because of its plans to set up a tomato paste manufacturing company.

“The government’s aim of setting up the company in the state is to reduce post-harvest losses, which farmers usually complain of due to poor storage facilities, while boosting the farmers’ income,’’ he said.

NAN reports that the state is one of the states participating in the tomato value chains aspect of the FADAMA III AF project.