The Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Sen. Aliyu Abdullahi, has revealed that approximately 30 million hectares of Nigerian arable land remains unused.
Abdullahi stated this when the President of the National Tomato Growers, Processors, and Marketers Association of Nigeria (NATPAN) visited his office in Abuja on Friday.
The minister said, “Nigeria has about 73 million hectares of arable land, of which we are currently utilising only about 41 to 43 million. This means we are having close to half of our arable land not being farmed”.
According to him, this underutilisation poses serious implications for food security, especially as the country faces rising food prices and seasonal shortages.
The minister emphasised the urgency of addressing the issues, particularly in light of upcoming dry seasons.
“Let us not allow the issue of tomato to be used by some to turn us to hungry people. The round table has to happen quickly because the dry season is just around the corner and what happens during the dry season doesn’t just stay with the dry season; rather, it gets carried far and beyond into the lean period”, he stated.
Responding, NATPAN President, Abdullahi Ringim, urged the ministry to address the non-implementation of existing tomato policies.
“The non-enforcement of the policy on tomato levy has rendered comatose the envisaged availability of the requisite fund for the development of the tomato sector”, he said, highlighting the detrimental effects of pests and rising transportation costs.
