In our interview with Chief Eric Umeofia last Friday, we erroneously wrote that ‘their capacity is more than 50,000 metric tons… whereas their capacity is 450,000 metric tons per annum’. The error is regretted. Read the correct version below.<em

Do you have the capacity to produce enough for the country?

IT will interest you to know that China plants tomato once annually while we plant twice, so we have the potential of not just attaining self-sufficiency but the ability of exporting tomatoes to the whole world. To be honest with you and without sounding immodest, if government shuts down all tomato importers in the country, Erisco Foods Limited has the capacity to absorb all the employees that might be affected. Our current capacity is 450,000 metric tons per annum and with our expansion in Sokoto, we will be hitting one million metric tons in the coming year. Back to your question, we have the capacity to produce enough for the country and even for export.

What are your projections in the next five years?

We are not talking about five years; in the next couple of days we will be using 100% tomato fresh to produce our brands. We have concluded research and precisely on February 18, 2016 we are going 100% tomato fresh in production. We had to change the date to put everything in proper perspective. In fact, I use this opportunity to invite you to the programme, so that you can see with your eyes and not what you are told. From next season, all the tomatoes we will be using will come directly from our farms and most importantly, we will be reducing tomato wastage by 30% this year and by next year, the wastage will be reduced to up to 80%. Is it not surprising that whereas we grow tomato twice a year here in Nigeria, China grows just once a year yet we are importing from the same China. When we started producing tomato in cans here, they said it was not possible, but today we are doing it. Some people are still deceiving Nigerians that it is still not possible all in a bid to continue importing.

What drives you?

The driving force is to contribute my quota to national development. I have thriving businesses globally and the profits are ploughed back to subsidise the operations of Erisco Foods Limited. This is because of my commitment to make Nigeria a better place for all. We must all join hands to make Nigeria great by patronizing made in Nigeria products. I am an advocate of made in Nigeria goods because apart from the low quality and the health implications of using substandard products, and the flooding of the market with cheap and deadly alternatives, they stifle indigenous manufacturers forcing them to stop production. The attendant implication is that thousands of Nigerians are thrown into unemployment.

How do you relax?

To be sincere with you, there is no relaxation for me until all the importers of fake and substandard tomato products are chased out of the country. Unfortunately, Nigerians don’t understand that importers of substandard tomato products, or any other product for that matter, don’t mean well for the country. We should realize that if we are able to stop importation of tomato products and start patronising Erisco brands, it will lead to expansion of our production capacity and thereby creating multiple jobs for the youths.