FG to install solar-powered cold rooms in Kano for tomato preservation

The Federal Government is set to provide solar-powered cold rooms in Kano for the preservation of tomatoes, the Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh, has said. Ogbeh made this known today during  the First National Tomato Stakeholders Summit in Kano. Chief Audu Ogbeh, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development ‎According to him, the cold rooms will be installed in about 15 locations in the state. “In addition to that, the government will also provide cold trucks to transport tomatoes from one location to the other.” ‎ ‎The minister added that Nigeria and Brazil had signed a 1.2 billion dollars credit scheme for the procurement of 10, 000 tractors for farmers; and to boost the agricultural sector. ‎ ‎‎The minster said that the Bank of Agriculture would be re-positioned, adding that 40 per cent of the shares would go to farmers. He urged farmers, youths and women to buy shares in the bank‎ because the government intended to put a five per cent interest on agriculture loan. The President of Nigeria Agribusiness Group, Alhaji Sani Dangote, said that tomato accounted for about 60 per cent of global vegetable production at 177 million tonnes in 2016. According to Dangote, Nigeria produces 10.8 per cent of fresh tomatoes in Africa, making Nigeria the second largest producer of fresh tomatoes in the region. “Globally, the country is the 14th largest tomato producer ‎with 2.3 million tonnes in 2016,” he said. Also speaking at the event, Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje, restated his administration’s commitment to the revival of agriculture in the state. According to Ganduje, the state government has distributed 5,000 irrigation machines to farmers in the state with additional 2,500 pumps underway.