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Chima Azubuike writes about the harsh reality faced by tomato and pepper farmers in Bula community in Gombe State, due to lack of storage facilities, which not only jeopardises their earnings but also casts a long shadow over Nigeria’s agricultural sector
Bula, a small agricultural hub nestled within the expansive plains of Akko Local Government Area, Gombe State, is known for its vast fields of tomatoes and peppers.
Here, under the sun’s unrelenting gaze, the farmers work diligently, cultivating these crops that promise high profits but come with significant challenges.
Among these farmers is 35-year-old Aliyu Maikudi, a man who, despite his success, continues to grapple with a problem that undermines the very foundation of his livelihood: the lack of proper storage facilities.
The vibrancy of Bula’s fields, where rows of tomatoes glow in red and peppers shimmer in green under the sunlight, masks a more troubling reality – huge harvest losses
The community is a key supplier of vegetables to major cities across Nigeria, but the absence of essential infrastructure like storage facilities threatens to turn potential millions into losses overnight.
The Journey of a farmer
Aliyu Maikudi, a father of eight and a husband to two wives, stands tall as one of the very successful farmers in Bula.
His journey began over a decade ago, and through persistence and hard work, he now earns up to N7m annually from his fields of tomatoes and peppers.
His weathered hands, which bear the marks of years of tilling the land, are a testament to the dedication that farming in Bula demands.
“I have been farming tomatoes for more than 10 years now,” Maikudi shared. “The business is very profitable. We chose tomato and pepper farming because we’ve seen the benefits, and there’s excessive gain to be made.”
The profitability is undeniable, but for farmers like Maikudi, there’s always a catch. Behind the apparent success lies a fragile system that can collapse with the changing of the seasons.
Without proper storage, much of the produce is at the mercy of time and the weather, forcing farmers to sell at rock-bottom prices or risk watching their hard-earned crops spoil.
Overcoming the odds
The road to success for Maikudi and his fellow farmers has been fraught with challenges.
Fertilizer costs, which once hovered around N10,000 per bag, have skyrocketed to N50,000, squeezing profits and putting many small-scale farmers at risk of financial ruin.
Yet, Maikudi kept on, carefully balancing his expenses and navigating the volatile agricultural market.
“When you spend about N1m on fertilizers and other expenses like tilling, transplanting, and farming, the total cost comes to about N1.5m,” Maikudi explained.
“But when you sell the produce, you can make up to N10m. After deducting what you spent earlier, you get a profit of around N7m.”
His ability to diversify by planting a mix of tomatoes, bell peppers, chilli peppers, and Scotch bonnets has been key to his resilience.
“These vegetables all do well here, especially when the weather is good,” he revealed, though the rising costs continue to weigh heavily on his mind.
“Without government intervention, many of us might be forced out of business.”
Bula’s agricultural footprint
Bula’s strategic location has made it a key supplier of tomatoes and peppers to cities like Kano, Abuja, Jos, Maiduguri, Akure, and Lagos.
On a typical Saturday evening, the community bustles with activity as traders load trucks with produce destined for markets across the country.
The scene is one of energy and hope, yet it is tinged with the looming threat of loss, should storage solutions remain unaddressed.
Maikudi, pointing to a car brimming with fresh tomatoes, proudly said, “Every day, I load goods worth more than N1m. Right now, that car is going to Kano, while others have already gone to Jos, Maiduguri, Akure, and Lagos.”
Despite these successes, the lack of proper storage facilities continues to cast a shadow over the industry. Without them, much of the community’s produce spoils before it reaches the marketplace, reducing profits and driving up waste.
Urgent need for storage solutions
For Maikudi and his peers, the rainy season is particularly unforgiving. When the supply of tomatoes and peppers exceeds demand, prices plummet, and without proper storage, farmers are forced to sell their crops at giveaway prices or let them rot in the fields.
As chairman of the Vegetable Farmers’ Association in Bula, Maikudi has been very vocal about the need for government intervention.
“The government should establish mini-processing factories to help farmers reduce post-harvest losses,” he urged.
Such facilities, he argued, would centralise marketing efforts and allow farmers to store their produce for up to three months, giving them the flexibility to sell when prices are more favourable.
A community in need of infrastructure
Beyond the immediate issue of storage, Bula faces a broader infrastructure deficit. The lack of a standard market or farm service centre is glaringly absent in a community that plays such a pivotal role in Nigeria’s agricultural economy.
Kasim Mohammed, the Yerima of Bula, echoed Maikudi’s call for investment.
“Youths can be encouraged to take up farming when the government supplies fertilizers at affordable rates,” Mohammed said.
“But beyond that, we need storage facilities to prevent waste. We also need a standard market where we can sell our produce and farm service centres to provide us with the tools and equipment needed for large-scale farming.”
He noted that the rich soil of Gombe State is a vital resource, yet its potential remains largely untapped due to the lack of proper investment in infrastructure.
Potential of the agriculture industry
The state ranks second only to Kano in tomato production, with an annual output of 50,000 metric tonnes.
Communities like Bula, Kwadon, Dadin-Kowa, and Kumo contribute to this impressive figure, but they face the same systemic issues—chief among them, the absence of storage facilities.
The collapse of the Manto Tomato Processing Factory in 2003 only exacerbated the problem.
Once a key player in Nigeria’s tomato industry, the factory’s closure left a void that no subsequent administration has been able to fill.
Call for investment
Despite the lucrative nature of tomato farming, it remains a risky business. Crop diseases, pests, and unpredictable market prices are constant threats. While farmers like Maikudi can still turn a profit, they are fully aware that without the right support, their livelihood could disappear as quickly as a season’s worth of spoilt tomatoes.
Government officials, like the Gombe State Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr Barnabas Malle, Sunday PUNCH learnt have acknowledged the problem but have yet to deliver on promises.
“The provision of cold chain facilities will redefine the tomato business in the state,” he admitted.
However, for Maikudi, hope can be rekindled only if investment in storage solutions and broader agricultural infrastructure is done as soon as possible.
