The Dangote Tomato Processing Factory, Kadawa, Kano State, has begun a survey of tomato farms in six major producing states to ascertain its level of availability.

The company’s Managing Director, Alhaji Abdulkarim Kaita, disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in an interview on Friday in Kano.

Kaita said the survey would be conducted in major tomato growing areas within the states which are: Jigawa, Katsina, Kaduna, Kano, Gombe, Plateau and Sokoto.

He said that the survey would enable the company to assess the availability of the commodity before resuming production in the next few weeks.

“We want to make sure that the commodity is readily available in these states before we resume production.

“We will require 40 trailers of tomato daily, hence our decision to embark on the survey of major tomato growing areas to know whether the farmers have started harvesting.”

He disclosed that the company had engaged over 50 casual staff who would convey the fresh tomato inside the factory for processing.

He said no fewer than 30 students on Industrial Training (IT) had also been engaged by the company to assess the quality of the raw materials before processing.

NAN recalls that the company stopped production about nine months ago due to inadequate raw materials, following the outbreak of a pest which destroyed tomato farms in about five states, including Kano. (NAN)