Investing in tomato farming can be fruitful venture based on its high demands across sectors of the nation’s economy.
With hotels and eateries springing up on a weekly basis, in all nooks and cranies of the country, the demands for tomatoes is equally on the rise, because every hotel has a catering unit.
Investing in tomato is more rewarding as some firms who are into production of tomato-paste are in high demands of the product. Although tomato can be grown in all States of the country, but it is peculiar to Bauchi, Gombe, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Sokoto, Taraba, Zamfara and Kano states.
A part-time farmer based in Edo State, Charles Ilobekemen while speaking with LEADERSHIP Weekend, explained that the profitability of tomato farming and business is more rewarding if well handled, saying, “as Tomatoes takes between 60 days to 100 days for harvest, a farmer can on rotational basis plant and harvest it four times a year” .
However, for those who are interested in large scale tomato farming, he said, they should consider the finance and the land to be used before going into it. And also, investors in tomatoes business should get ready markets and customers as tomatoes usually have very short lifespan after harvest as they are prone to rot or spoiling within few hours.
Moreover Ilobekemen advised that, tomatoes planting is usually done between December and March.
He, however, explained further that, plantation of tomatoes can be done any month of the year but the plantation prosper more during dry season in Nigeria because tomotoes plants are unfriendly with rainfall. And if one plants during extreme dry season like December, one will have to water, and irrigate the hedges to ensure its growth.
On his own part, a civil servant and farmer in Ondo State, Comrade Oluyemi Adewale, advised that, to preserve tomatoes from being rotten, investors can try to keep them under a banana tree or mix them with ashes.
Adewale, who is making huge revenue from selling tomatoes, further explained that, tomato is money-spinning work with multiple chain work that can create more jobs if more people are investing into the farming.
“One will have to watch out against pests, especially those tiny insects that often attack tomoto plants when they are in fruit-yielding stage.
“Because tomatoes plants often don’t have strength enough to stand erect when yielding fruits, you should look for small wooden table or bed where the tomatoes can rest their fruits. By this style, pest or ants will not be able to feast on the fruits because when allowed to rest on the ground, insects can easily attack them. Moreover, you should have fenced garden to protect them from animals,” he said.
Tomato business, according to Wale, can yield millions of naira as profit if done on a large scale. It’s a business that gives quick returns on investment and one can recoup one’s investment within two to three cycles in a year.
