The federal government says Nigeria has lost more than N1.3 billion to the outbreak of Tuta absoluta, commonly known as the tomato leaf miner or tomato Ebola, in three states.

Agric minister Abubakar Kyari said this at the ongoing four-day capacity building workshop for financial institutions on Wednesday in Abuja.

Mr Kyari said the outbreak had consequently led to the surge of a 50kg basket of tomatoes from N5,000 to N10,000 and approximately N30,000, exacerbating food inflation and straining household budgets.

The three states are Kano, Katsina and Kaduna.

He explained that tomato ebola had underscored the fragility of the country’s horticultural systems, adding that the invasive pest could decimate tomato crops within 48 hours, leading to catastrophic yield losses.

According to him, this crisis highlights the urgent need for integrated pest management strategies, investment in resilient crop varieties and enhanced support for farmers to safeguard the country’s food supply chains.

Meanwhile, Mr Kyari explained that the sector enabled smallholder farmers to diversify their production portfolios and earn steady incomes outside traditional grain cycles.

“Crops like tomatoes, pineapples, cucumbers, citrus and plantains have huge domestic demand and are increasingly becoming important commercial crops.

“On food and nutrition security, horticultural crops are rich sources of vitamins A, C, iron, zinc, and folate nutrients vital for child development, maternal health and disease prevention. Scaling up their production and affordability is key to ending malnutrition in all its forms,” he added.

He urged financial institutions to map and understand the horticulture value chain from seed to shelf.

He further urged them to move beyond generic lending and develop tailored products aligned with the value chain’s specific stages.

He also urged them to develop fit-for-purpose financial products, including seasonal credit lines, equipment leasing, invoice discounting, and trade financing.

(NAN)