Dangote partners GEMS4 to boost tomatoe production

The newly completed Dangote Tomato Processing Company in Kano, and Growth and Employment in States (GEMS4), a market development initiative funded by World Bank, and DFID, have signed agreement with tomato farmers to boost tomatoes production  by developing the tomatoes value chain.

The agreement entered into by the three organisations is one of the practical initiatives being implemented through GEMS4 programme to address the huge challenge confronting Nigerian tomato farmers in area of post –harvest management of the commodity.

Nigeria currently loses about 40 percent of tomatoes harvested in country as a result of poor post-harvest handling, which experts said run into several billions of Naira per year.

Speaking exclusively to BusinessDay, after the endorsing the agreement over the weekend in Kano, Richard Ogundele, intervention manager, who is in charge of supply chain perishable produce for GEMS4, disclosed that the agreement is expected to be of tremendous value to the Nigerian economic, particularly, industrial development.

According to him, about 100,000 are to have their incomes increased  under the first phase of the agreement, while, at the end of the implementation of the GEMS 4 programme a total of about 500,000 farmers, across the country are o benefit from the initiative.

“The Dangote plant here in Kano requires 1,200 metric tonnes of fresh tomatoes daily, which is an equivalent of 40 trucks each with the capacity of 30 metric tonnes on a daily basis,” Ogundele said.

“The Plant will impact over 100,000 farmers with increased incomes and the multiplier effect of this is the creation of jobs for transport service delivery, labour for loading and off loading handling, packaging and distribution” he explained.

He pointed out that it is geared at increasing incomes of the smallholding farmers, as well as generating employment opportunities by improving competitiveness in strategic economic sectors through business environment reforms.

“GEMS 4 is working with business associations, service providers, producers, retailers, wholesalers, and other actors involved in the market, linking them so that they can work together and serve themselves better.

Ogundele said the project is building local capacity and changing market incentives in order to facilitate marked system changes that will create jobs and increase incomes, on the parts of the vulnerable, low-income groups.

“Our engagement with partners has focused on identifying opportunities that will unlock financial benefits in various operations –tomato production, tomato processing, tomato packaging and tomato distribution, we are also focusing on the imperative of improving primary handling operators” he added.

Adeola Ajakaiye