Z’bar tomato prices up as pest destroys crop

This is how Tuta absoluta pests destroy tomatoes. PHOTO|FILE

What you need to know:

In September 2015, the pest struck Kombeni Village in Urban West Region in Unguja Island, before spreading fast in the entire Zanzibar archipelago. The head of Field Services Section in the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources in Zanzibar, Mr Suleiman Juma Machano, said the pest has cut harvests of Zanzibar‘s “red gold” by nearly 70 per cent, creating a serious commodity shortage.

Arusha. Zanzibar tomato growers are facing huge losses due to a major pest invasion, which is reaching epidemic proportions.

Scientifically known as Tuta absoluta, the pest has originated from South America.

In September 2015, the pest struck Kombeni Village in Urban West Region in Unguja Island, before spreading fast in the entire Zanzibar archipelago. The head of Field Services Section in the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources in Zanzibar, Mr Suleiman Juma Machano, said the pest has cut harvests of Zanzibar‘s “red gold” by nearly 70 per cent, creating a serious commodity shortage.

This implies that farmers realised only 30 per cent of the harvest last season, pushing up the prices of tomatoes beyond reach of majority poor folks.

Whereas consumers create high demand, brokers are cashing in as prices soared from Sh1,000 to Sh4,000 per kilograme in just a month as shortage bites.

“The situation is bad. We are now forced to import tomatoes from Mainland Tanzania , where the shortages also exists due to similar reasons,” Mr Khalfan Nassoro told The Citizen.

The permanent secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources here, Mr Affan Othman Maalim, told The Citizen that the government was consulting scientists from Mainland Tanzania to advise the best way to control the pest.

“This pest is new in Zanzibar… we haven’t seen it before so we are consulting experts from the Mainland to see if they can help us,” Mr Maalim said.

The Tuta absoluta outbreak first occurred at Ngarenanyuki in Arumeru District, Arusha Region, mid 2014, from where it spread to other places in Tanzania.

Morogoro-based Magole farm, probably the country’s biggest commercial producer of tomatoes has seen its 35 acres completely destroyed by the pest, leaving the management weeping.

Magole farm assistant manager Jones Murege told The Citizen that they lost nearly 1,000 tonnes of tomato worth Sh700 million.

The Tanzania Horticultural Association says the pest threat is real and if nothing is done immediately, the entire tomato production will be destroyed, denying the economy Sh300 billion annually.