Senator Abubakar Kyari, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, has revealed that the increase in prices of tomatoes which reduced its availability, is a cause of an infestation known as Tomato Ebola.

On Monday, Kyari disclosed this in a post on X.com while responding to a user who asked that something be done as “the cost of tomatoes is out of control; it’s like they are charging us per seed.”

In his post, the minister wrote, “A significant number of our tomato farms have been affected by a severe infestation known as Tomato Ebola or Tomato Leaf Miner. This has drastically reduced the availability of tomatoes and contributed to rising costs.”

Kyari noted that the ministry has outlined plans to combat the issue, which include deploying agricultural experts to affected areas to control and eliminate the infestation and supporting farmers with resources and guidance to recover their crops quickly.

“We understand the impact this has on your daily lives and are working tirelessly to resolve the situation and restore the supply of affordable tomatoes. Thank you for your patience and understanding during this challenging time, he added.”

Wakadaily gathered that earlier in May the prices of basic food commodities such as rice, beans, maize, plantains, and tomatoes surged by 25.34 percent to 40.01 percent as of March 2024.