Vegetable farmers in the South West have raised the alarm over the outbreak of Tuta absoluta pest disease on tomato farms in Ogun, Osun, Oyo, and Lagos states.

The alarm is coming months after tomato farmers recorded massive losses as a result of the outbreak of the disease in many northern states.

The farmers, under the aegis of the Southwest Association of Vegetable Farmers and Sellers (SWAVS), who raised the alarm in an exclusive phone interview with The Guardian, said the disease is spreading fast, as it has so far damaged five tomato farms within three weeks.

The Secretary of the Association, Maybee Boluwatife, said the outbreak was first recorded at a farm near the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), Ogun State, and then later in Lekki, Lagos State, Oyo State, and Osun states.

While explaining that this is the first time they are recording such an outbreak in the Southwest, she said many farmers are not aware of the disease, thereby making it difficult to know what to do when they notice such an infestation on their farms.

Boluwatife pointed out that recently they have noticed an upsurge in the purchase of pesticides to tackle the disease. “Farmers have started buying lots of pesticides these days in an effort to combat this disease, which is not good for human consumption,” she said.

She further raised concerns over the high cost of the technology that has been introduced to tackle the pest.

She said, “It’s good that scientists have introduced the pheromone traps, sticky traps, and then pesticides to tackle Tuta Absoluta; however, it is very expensive as the sticky traps cost N2000, pheromones cost N6000, and then the pesticides. Ten pheromones are needed for a hectare of land, and they must be changed every six weeks until the tomatoes are harvested.”

She, however, bemoaned that South West Governors pay more attention to cash crop farmers than vegetable farmers and called on the state governments in the region to come up with strong policies and relevant support to help tackle the disease.

Also speaking, the President of the Association, Mr. Sunday Adeleke, decried the low awareness of the pest disease among farmers in the South West and stressed the need for coordinated efforts by governors in the region to raise farmers’ awareness, informing them of the best practices to adopt on their farms rather than relying on pesticide sprays.

He also pointed out that pheromone traps are expensive because they are imported, saying the technology can be produced locally instead of relying on importation.

He further called on the state governments to work with the National Horticultural Research Institute (NIHORT) to produce bio-pesticides to tackle some of the diseases plaguing their farms.