Farmers lament outbreak of Tuta Absoluta pest disease in South West

Vegetable farmers in the South West region of the country have raised the alarm over the outbreak of Tuta Absoluta pest disease that has destroyed 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 some northern states. The farmers, under the aegis of Southwest Association of Vegetable Farmers and Sellers (SWAVS), who raised the alarm in an exclusive phone interview with The Guardian, said that the disease had so far damaged five tomato farms within three weeks.

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

She said many farmers were not aware of this disease, thereby making it difficult to know what to do when they notice such infestation on their farms. Boluwatife, who further raised concerns over the high cost of technology introduced to tackle the pest disease, however, urged the South West governors pay more attention to vegetable farmers and also come up with strong policies and relevant support to help tackle the disease.

Also speaking, President of the association, Sunday Adeleke, who decried the low awareness of the pest disease among farmers in the South West, stressed the need for coordinated efforts by governors in the region to raise farmers’ awareness of the best practices to adopt on their farms rather than pesticides spraying.

He also called on the state governments to work with the National Horticultural Research Institute (NIHORT) to produce biopesticides to tackle some of the diseases plaguing the farmers’ farms.