Taiwo Hassan 
The increasing price of tomato and pepper in the country has dropped by 90 per cent in some states, according to fresh findings on the current prices of the perishable commodity.
Specifically, tomato and pepper farmers in Bula, Akko Local Government Area of Gombe State, are grappling with severe financial setbacks as the price of tomatoes plummeted by 90 per cent in just two weeks.
According to findings by New Telegraph, hundreds of baskets of tomatoes and bags of pepper were on display in the local market, with farmers and dealers pleading with buyers to purchase the products.
However, the price of a large basket of tomatoes, which was N10,000 two weeks ago, has fallen to N1,000. Similarly, the price of scotch bonnet (hot pepper) has dropped by 68 per cent, from N50,000 to N16,000.
While reacting to the declining prices of tomatoes, Chairman of the Tomato Farmers Association in Bula, Alhaji Saleh Maikudi, expressed deep frustration over the daily losses.
He revealed that farmers were losing N9,000 per basket of tomatoes, N30,000 per bag of bell pepper, and N34,000 per bag of scotch bonnet compared to what they earned two weeks ago. “This situation is unbearable.
Farmers are forced to beg buyers to help them reduce post-harvest losses, even at these severely low prices,” he said. He called on the Federal Government and Gombe State Government to intervene by providing processing facilities to help farmers avoid losses and store surplus produce.
“We have an abundance of tomatoes and pepper. Processing and storing them would prevent the kind of scarcity we faced a few months ago,” he explained.
Chairman of the Vegetables Sellers Association in Bula, Khalifa Bello, echoed the call for assistance, urging both the government and private investors to provide mini-processing plants that will allow farmers to process tomatoes into paste or powder and package them for the future use.
He warned that unless the tomato value chain—from planting and harvesting to processing, packaging, and storage—is fully developed, farmers will continue to struggle for profitability.
