300 farmers get improved tomato seeds in Plateau

The Plateau Government in collaboration with the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC) have distributed improved tomato seeds to 300 farmers in order to enhance its production.

The Programme Manager, Plateau Agricultural Development Programme (PADP), Mr Philip Kassam, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Jos on Sunday.

Kassam said the new variety of seeds, which could be planted in both dry and wet seasons, had lots of advantages over and above the older one.

According to him, the improved tomato seeds are not only disease resistant, but they have less water content and its merits outweigh the ones our farmers are presently using.

It has higher portability for simple processing because it has so much flesh and seeds in it.

Our farmers will be better off with this improved brand of tomato that can give them quality for the attainment of industrial specification, thereby boosting their agrarian yield and added income.’’

He commended RMRDC for making available the improved variety of tomato seeds, adding that such intervention would go a long way to boost the production of the crop for market purposes.

Kassam said that the choice of Plateau by the RMRDC as a viable location for development of a sustained research in tomato value chain was commendable.

The ADP programme manager called on the council to ensure such gesture was granted to farmers in the state on regular basis so as to boost agricultural activities on the Plateau.

He assured that benefitting farmers would be supervised regularly to avoid diversion of the free seeds given to them for other purposes.

He advised the farmers not to be discouraged by lack of markets for the products, but take tomato production serious because government agents would mop up the products. (NAN)