Nigeria has new pesticide to fight Tuta absoluta

Nigeria's Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, reports that the country has a new pesticide to fight the tomato pest Tuta absoluta, which is currently decimating Nigeria tomato cultivation.

Dr Onu, who revealed the new discovery at a press conference in Abuja Friday 27 May, said the new pesticide will solve the problem of tomato shortage being experienced by Nigerians.

The new pesticide is very effective against ‘tuta absoluta’ otherwise known as ‘Tomato Ebola’ and it will soon be released to the farmers, according to the minister, who did not give the name of the pesticide.

“…And very recently the nation woke up to hear a pest ravaged our tomato farms in many parts of the country. We as a nation recorded a lot of losses and as a result of that our factories were unable to get enough supply of tomatoes and had to shut down. Fortunately for us, a new pesticide has just been developed by the National Research Institute for Chemical Technology (NARICT), Zaria. It is very effective against the new tomato pest, by name Tuta absoluta,” Dr Onu said.

He commended the NARICT scientists for coming up with the new solution, saying the institute has saved the country billions of naira which would have been used to import pesticides from abroad.