Some agriculture experts have restated the need for improved value addition to the vegetable sector to prevent post-harvest losses. The experts said this on the sidelines of a two-day workshop on the development of Agricultural Input Packages (AIP) for vegetable crops, on Monday in Lagos.
They reiterated the viability of the sector but noted increasing losses due to poor value addition.
Dr Muhammad Attanda, the Director of the National Horticultural Research Institute (NIHORT), said Nigeria produced enough vegetable crops, but regretted that the sector was crippled by poor or no value addition.
“Nigeria has a comparative advantage in vegetable cultivation. In 2021, Nigeria produced more than 15 million metric tonnes of vegetables.
“However, the issue of adequate packaging and value addition are an albatross to the Nigerian vegetable sector.
“Agricultural input packages for vegetable crops will go a long way in improving the profitability of the vegetable sector.
“At NIHORT, we have done about six to seven input packages which include tomatoes, okra, pepper and paprika,” Attanda said.
On his part, Mr Mohammed Salasi, Programme Director of HortiNigeria, said that the Netherlands desired to help Nigeria to boost the potential of its vegetable sector.
“Vegetable is one of the strongest sectors in the Netherlands.
“Nigeria has a deficit of supply gap of about 13 million metric tonnes of vegetable into the country.
“Every year, we import tomatoes and other vegetable crops to the tune of 13 million metric tonnes,” he said.
Salasi said that it implied that Nigeria was using its scarce forex resources to import the vegetables.
“This is why the Netherlands decided to support Nigeria in vegetable cultivation because of its comparative advantage.
“The focal crops are tomatoes, onions and Okra,” Salasi told NAN.
Alhaji Rabiu Zuntu, Chairman, National Tomatoes Growers, Processors and Marketers Association of Nigeria (NANTAP), said that post-harvest losses was detrimental to the average vegetable farmer.
“In tomatoes cultivation, we lose about 50 per cent of the produce to post-harvest loss due to poor packaging.
“These losses pose a great disadvantage not only to tomatoes farmers but to all vegetable farmers.
“This losses can only be reduced if we are helped to develop value addition in the sector,” Zuntu said. (NAN)
