An entrepreneur, Salisu Danjuma, from the Difa community in Yamaltu Deba Local Government Area of Gombe State, says he earns over N2.5 million annually from tomato cultivation during the season.
Speaking in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Difa, Danjuma described tomato farming as one of the most profitable agricultural ventures for youths.
Having cultivated tomatoes for the past 15 years, he told NAN that the business had provided him with a stable livelihood while also creating employment opportunities for about 70 youths who work directly and indirectly on his farm.
According to him, during the dry season, he focuses primarily on tomato farming, harvesting over 55 large baskets weekly. These are then transported to Enugu, Rivers, and other southern states.
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I make over N2.5 million from cultivating tomatoes annually and this has really helped me to provide for my family and even engage youths working for me and making their daily income.
As you can see now, we just loaded a vehicle going to the South East from here and each big basket here costs N11,000 while the medium basket is N8,000, he said.
Danjuma stated that although tomato farming was lucrative, the high costs of fertilisers and agrochemicals had continued to reduce his income. He, however, noted that cultivating crops through irrigation was generally more expensive.
He encouraged youths in the state to explore opportunities in agriculture by utilising available water bodies in their communities for irrigation farming, saying “It is a profitable venture."
In Nigeria today, it is no longer sensible to wait on the government because the government cannot employ all the youths but with agriculture, youths can earn better than civil servants.
I farm all year round; during the wet season, I go to another farmland because this place would have been overtaken by flood water from the river.
This is why I am not begging anyone for jobs because I don’t stay idle in any season, he added.
The 40-year-old farmer also appealed to the state government to invest more in irrigation farming, adding that food sufficiency would not be achieved with wet season farming alone.
Government can support youths with irrigation facilities to carry out dry season farming which is more profitable and will help in addressing youths unemployment in the state,” he said.
Danjuma also appealed to the state government to provide mini-processing facilities to reduce post-harvest losses, which often occurred after harvest.
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