Pests and Droughts Hit Nigeria's Tomato Farms
Nigeria has a reputation as sub-Saharan Africa's biggest tomato producer. The Dede tomato market in the capital Abuja is usually bustling with customers stocking up on the bright fruit, which plays a starring role in Nigerian cuisine. But these days, prices are high and business slow.
"When tomatoes were in abundance we were taking delivery of more than a hundred trucks daily," says Mamuda Mamoko, an official of the market's traders union. "Now we are taking delivery of a little over 20 to 25 trucks."
Things are much the same across the country.
"There are markets where in the past they used to offload more than ten vehicles but now not even a single tomato fruit is available," Mamoko told DW.
Tony