Dangote Farms Begins Hybrid Tomatoes Production In Kano - Agriculture - K.E

Kano – Dangote Farms have started a pilot hybrid
tomatoes production in Kano to meet the demand
of it's tomatoes processing plants in the state, its
Managing Director, Alhaji Abdulhamid Kaita,
disclosed on Friday.
Kaita told newsmen at the end of a two-day
stakeholders' forum on tomatoes value chain in
Kano that the company had also introduced the
hybrid seedlings to farmers.
He said the farmers, however, insisted that the
seedlings be tried by the company's farm before
they could patronise it.


He noted that the company had begun a pilot
project at Kadawa area of the state during this
year's rainy season and was about to begin the
second phase of the project in the dry farming
season.


"The yield produced before is about 10 tones per
hectare, while the hybrid seedling varieties
introduced will produce 80 to 100 tones per
hectare using the best practices," Kaita said.


He said the meeting was aimed at mobilising the
farmers to rub minds to save the company from
shortage of raw materials.


He added that the company had engaged farmers
in the past two years and provided them with best
practices in tomatoes production and processing.


Kaita said the company had orgnised the farmers
into groups to enable them benefit from the
company.


Contributing, one of the stakeholders, Mr Richard
Ogundele, commended Dangote Farms for the
initiative.


He expressed optimism that Dangote Farms would
reap the benefit of the forum as many problems
were brought for discussion.


Dangote Farms collaborated with the World Bank
to conduct the meeting on tomatoes.
The meeting, held between Nov. 20 and Nov. 21,
had several stakeholders such as Federal and
State Ministries of Agriculture, development
partners and insurance companies in attendance.
(NAN)


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