Nigeria Losses $500 Million to Non Implementation of Tomato Sector Policy 

Baskets of Tomatoes

August 10, 2018//-The Tomato Growers Association of Nigeria (TOGAN)  has attributed non implementation of tomato sector policy by relevant stakeholders as responsible for the loss of $500 million revenue to the federal government coffers.

Addressing reporters in Kano, the National President,  Tomato Growers Association of Nigeria,  Alhaji Abdullahi Ringim, blamed the federal ministry of finance and the Nigerian Custom Service for dereliction of duty.

Ringim in a prepared text that was read on his behalf by the Secretary,  Alhaji  Sani Danladi-Yadakwari said: “the policy has been ignored by officials of the federal ministry of finance, and Nigerian Custom Service who claimed hiccups in the process of gazetting.”

The secretary added that “when we approached the Nigerian Custom Service regarding the non implementation of the policy,  we were told that between the date the policy was approved and the date they were given the gazette of the policy for implementation,  it had exceeded the stipulated 90 days”.

The Tomato Growers lamented that if relevant stakeholders can ignored the decision of federal Executive Council as captured in the policy documents calls for attention and probe.

He said that owing to the policy somersault,  local farmers lost N10b to poor market,  and lack of guaranteed off takers.

Alhaji  Sani Danladi-Yadakwari described the distribution and sales of foreign tomato paste across the country as unsafe, stressing that  investigation over their clinical safety showed that such products falls far below national food safety standards.

He therefore called on Federal Government to intervene and rescue tomato farmers by prevailing on concerned agencies to ensure full implementation of tomato policy in the country.

TOGAN however threatened to embark on peaceful protest to the National Assembly if by the next one month nothing was done to reversed the trend. Independent.ng

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