Daily Trust - the online edition

Kano State Commissioner for Agriculture has said that there is apparent over production of tomato this year by Kano farmers owing to lack of processing plants in the state.

Alhaji Musa Sulaiman Shanono stated this while presenting the keys of cars donated by the government to lowland and highland farmer associations at KNARDA headquarters, saying tomato farmers are in crisis as lack of preserving techniques bedevil them.

At the occasion, which is also to inaugurate the leaders of the various farmer groups, Commissioner Shanono stated that tomato farmers would soon be happy as succour is coming their way.

"I feel saddened when I saw tomatoes being dried by the roadside whenever I passed through Kadawa area. So government is unrelenting to see that something is done to reduce this colossal loss," Shanono noted.

He added that owing to this glut, government finds it imperative to invite Dangote Group, in partnership with Italian company to build tomato-processing plant in Kano.

The commissioner noted that only last week the state government signed agreement with Dangote Group, revealing that his ministry is committed to the development of agriculture and that the state has doubled its agricultural production capacity this year.

Shanono also thanked Kano Agricultural Recourses Development Authority, KNARDA, for organising seminars every year to farmer and its efforts in boosting agricultural production in the state.

Responding, the Managing Director of KNARDA, Alhaji Muhammad Umar Kura, who was represented by a director at KNARDA, Shehu Aliyu, charged the leaders of the farmer associations to strive well and make positive impact on the farmers within their tenure.