NEPC Moves to Curb Tomato Waste, Boost Value Chain in Kano

The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) has commenced efforts to develop the tomato value chain in Kano State to reduce post-harvest losses and increase farmers’ income.

The Regional Coordinator of NEPC, North West, Amina Abdulmalik, disclosed this during a workshop on tomato value chain development held in Kano, explaining that the initiative was anchored on the council’s One State, One Product (OSOP) programme, under which tomato has been identified as a priority product for the state.

She said Kano produces tomatoes in large quantities but suffers significant losses due to the absence of effective value chain mechanisms, noting that the council was working to build stakeholders’ capacity to reduce wastage through value addition.

According to her, the workshop was designed to equip farmers, processors and other stakeholders with practical skills to process tomatoes into paste and other derivatives, rather than selling them raw and incurring losses from spoilage, adding that value addition would translate into higher income for producers.

Amina expressed optimism that participants would adopt tomato processing and other value chain activities after the training, adding that NEPC would continue to support initiatives aimed at strengthening agricultural value chains in the North West to boost exports, create jobs and improve livelihoods, while participants commended the initiative for addressing persistent tomato losses in Kano and neighbouring states.