THE RISING PRICE OF TOMATOES – IT’S THE GOLD SEASON

Fresh ripe tomatoes

“Nigeria is one of the largest consumer of tomato in the world” that has been said by various analyst world over. I don’t need an analyst to tell me that because I know that in Nigeria we eat just about everything with tomato. All our stews, soups and sauces in every corner of Nigeria includes tomato.

 We use tomatoes for salads, to fry omelettes, sandwiches and various other dishes. If you are like my husband or my father, you also eat tomato raw (yuk) like you eat an apple or any fruit.

Tomatoes can be cultivated anywhere across Nigeria, and this is because our tropical condition is favourable to the survival of tomatoes. There are many varieties of tomato but the greater part of tomato production in Nigeria is undertaken in the North of the country. Kaduna, Kano, Jigawa, Katsina, Sokoto, Plateau and Bauchi states. Although the Southern states also grow commercial quantity the variety grown is not as dry or large as that of the North.

Tomatoes as sold in Mile 12 Market, Lagos

In Lagos, most of our tomatoes and other fresh farm produce are supplied by the North. All the items are transported by road in cane baskets stacked on each other, by the time the produce gets to the market half of it is rotten.

From the farm an average basket can cost about N300 by the time it gets to Mile 12 market it can sell from about N3000 to N20,000 depending on the season and that includes the rotten, ungraded pieces.

Early this year, a basket of tomato in Lagos was sold for about N3,000; today in July we bought the same basket for N15,000. Last week it was N20,000.

There are two major reasons for the increase in price, 1. The season, 2. The unrest in the North.

Regardless of these reasons, we need to find a way to preserve our tomatoes. It is ridiculous to buy a basket of tomato about 40kg for N3000 then 6 months later that same tomato is sold for N20,000. When I know that two thirds of the tomatoes from the farm go to waste because of poor standards of harvesting, storage, transportation and preservation.

Nigeria produces 1.5 million tons of tomatoes annually of which about 900,000 tons rot, Agriculture Minister Akinwunmi Adesina said at a June 13 presentation in the capital, Abuja in 2013.

Nigeria is one of the biggest importers of tomato paste. We import tomato paste from Europe, Canada and China. Yet our own tomato belt is filled with rotten tomatoes. Ludicrous!

Imported Canned Tomatoes - Soon to be produced in Nigeria

In 2013, the Central Bank and Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, teamed up to establish a $25 million tomato-paste factory in Kano. The intervention by the Central Bank of Nigeria, which commissioned a study to show that processing local tomatoes is cheaper than importing paste from China, is part of the government’s drive to cut annual food imports of more than $10 billion. 

I am happy with this huge investment in tomato preservation in Nigeria but my worry is if the factory will cater to local consumption or exports. The factory has a capacity of about 400,000 tonnes of tomato-paste annually for a market demand of 900,000 tonnes annually.

In another news, I read that Thomas Canning of Maidstone, Ontario Canada, has signed a $25-million tomato product deal with a Nigerian company, Festrut Group. The tomatoes will be grown in Leamington, Ontario, the tomato capital of Canada, and canned in nearby Maidstone, before being shipped overseas to Nigeria. 

So as one rich man is helping local farmers preserve, maximize their profit and also feed Nigerians, another rich man is spending the same amount of money to help foreign farmers, save their jobs and feed Nigerians in the process. ummm Issokay… 

I’m in support of preserving local produce and drastically reducing price of local fresh farm produce in the market place. At a period like this when the price of tomato is like that of gold, my retail customers prefer imported canned whole tomatoes. The wholesale customers like Hotels, Restaurants and Eateries have no choice but to buy the fresh tomatoes but this drastically cuts into their profit as they can’t be expected to change their selling prices seasonally.

Diced Bottled Tomatoes - Another form of preservation

It is very sad because I know that if Nigerians can preserve the tomatoes during the season when it is cheap either canned whole or paste we would drop our domestic consumption price by more than half and that applies to many of our fresh foods especially during off season. This will also reduce our dependence on imports. We can do this successfully without resulting in banning. (I do not like banning of any sort, I’d rather we improve our local practices to meet up with our foreign competitors).

Investing in various fresh food preservation methods is a good way to help everyone save money; it is also a good way to help our local farmers maximize their profit and reduce their farm waste. In a country where the poor are over 70% of the population this has to be number one on any transformation agenda.

Pots, Pans and my love for party Jollof Rice

Jollof Rice

I grew up in a traditional Nigerian home where all the pots and pans in the kitchen are silver. Our pots are either aluminium, stainless steel or cast iron. The cast iron cauldrons are mainly used for parties or when you want to cook in large quantity in the backyard. The cast iron cauldron is responsible for the famous taste we get when we cook party Jollof rice with firewood. Somehow I can’t seem to achieve the party Jollof rice taste in other pots except I cook it in a large cauldron over a firewood at the backyard. As I’m typing this, I am salivating….. LOL.

Enamel Cast Iron - Expensive and Fancy

How does the type of cooking pot we use affect the food we cook in them? A question I recently asked myself due to my love for party Jollof rice. Whenever I want to change my pots, price is a consideration. But I’m also influenced by the colour, or that fancy little glass lid that allows you to see inside when you are cooking. Sometimes it’s the free utensils that come with the purchase or the fact that it is non-stick and I do not have to worry about my food burning or sticking to the pot. Hardly have I really considered the material it is constructed from until recently.   

My cast iron cauldron is meant to last for my life time and later generation so replacing it is not an issue. In fact one of my cauldrons was given to me by my mother;  actually I took it from her ……smiles.  

So on this day as I was researching online I came across an article on how the material used for the cooking pot affects the food we cook and how different dishes require different cooking pots etc.  So I did further interesting research on this to educate myself and thought I should share with my readers.

Copper Pots and Pans.

I found out that each material works differently, some cookware is better for heat conduction than others. Certain metals react with acidic foods, so you wouldn't want to cook a tomato sauce in them. Other pots and pans are very durable and easy to care for.

Aluminium Pots - Low priced, light weight and durable

Copper pot reacts with acidic food but it is excellent for any type of dish where you need precision heat control. It responds well to changes in the heat intensity, so you can go from rapid boil to simmer quite quickly. Modern-day copper cookware is lined with stainless-steel for the added benefit of durability and ease of cleaning. Copper is very expensive, must be hand-washed, and needs regular polishing to maintain its gleam. No wonder it is not common.

Aluminium and anodized aluminium pots are very common in Nigeria. They are fire resistant and good conductor of heat. Spending a long length of time over fire is not an issue for aluminium. Pots will also heat faster so food preparation will finish sooner. They are certainly safe to use in the kitchen as this material does not react with acidic food. One does not have to worry that it would affect the flavour of your cooked dishes.  Aluminium is lightweight, strong, conducts heat well, and is relatively inexpensive.

Cast Iron Cauldron - No. 1 on Jollof Rice Recipe List

Cast-iron cookware (e.g. Cauldrons) has been around for hundreds of years and there are many reasons as to why it's still used even today -- the material is durable and offers great heat conductivity and retention. With proper care and use, cast-iron cookware can last nearly forever. Cast iron reacts with acidic sauces and can rust if not properly cleaned and seasoned. They are very heavy, which can be a drawback and imparts some iron onto foods (but isn't dangerous). That iron is partly responsible for the famous party Jollof rice taste and the also famous Ewa Agoyin (Local beans delicacy).

Non-stick pans are made with a specialized coating that reduces sticking. They are a popular choice, especially if you're cutting down on cooking with fat. Newer non-stick coatings are more scratch-resistant than before. They are easy to clean with the wipe of a sponge. Should not be heated to high temperatures; which means you should not use them for deep frying or our popular Ayamase (Ofada Sauce).

Stainless Steel Pots

Stainless-steel pots and pans are practically perfect: they are nonreactive (i.e., chemically stable), nonporous, virtually maintenance free, and resistant to scratches, dents, and, yep, stains. But because the metal is a poor conductor of heat, manufacturers often combine it with a better heat conductor. They may coat the bottom of a stainless-steel pan with copper, insert an aluminium or copper plate in the bottom, or make the pan out of several layers, with a good conductor right under the surface. These embellishments add to the cost of stainless-steel cookware, but, are the closest thing we have to the ideal chemically inert but thermally responsive pan.  And that is why so many professional chefs and serious home cooks swear by them.

So there you have it, my humble research about pots and pans inspired by my love for party Jollof rice. My verdict is this; while stainless steel and non-stick pots will be for my general everyday use in the kitchen, the aluminium pot will come in handy whenever I’m making fried stews and Ayamase, I doubt if I’d buy the copper set because it is expensive and requires polishing; which I do not have the patience for but my darling cast iron cauldron will always be a keeper for the party Jollof rice, ewa Agoyin and other large cooking.

I need to hear from you, how do you choose your pots/pans? most importantly if you have found a way to make party Jollof rice in the kitchen I need your recipe.

Cheers.

Organic versus Non-organic foods

Hello again, I’m bombarded with this question every day I shop for my customers, "Are your fruits and veggies organic?" I honestly cannot answer that question because our foods are not labelled in Nigeria and we have no traceability system in place.

I did some research to educate myself about organic and non-organic farming in Nigeria so that I could better serve my customers in identifying the foods before I buy and supply them but I was not able to get any verifiable information so I went online.

So much information on the internet I couldn’t possibly copy all here but I will try to summarize what I was able to understand.

The word "organic" refers to the way farmers grow and process  agricultural products, such as fruits, vegetables, grains, dairy products and meat. Organic farming practices are designed to encourage soil and water conservation and reduce pollution. Farmers who grow organic produce and meat don't use conventional methods to fertilize, control weeds or prevent livestock disease. For example, rather than using chemical weedkillers, organic farmers may conduct more sophisticated crop rotations and spread mulch or manure to keep weeds at bay.

When talking about animals, organically raised animals are those raised with organic feed and kept free from growth hormones and antibiotics, as well as oftentimes treated more humanely and given better areas to roam than their non-organic counterparts. E.g. Chickens, cows, pigs etc.

Some people choose organically grown foods over conventionally grown foods because they have little or no pesticide residue left on produce and they believe organically grown foods have higher levels of nutrients.

While many studies have stated organic food is not necessarily healthier than non-organic in terms of nutritional value, the concerns for those who purchase organic tend to focus on the pesticides that can be ingested along with their fruits and vegetables.

There are other studies that show organic produce boasted up to 40 percent higher levels of some nutrients (including vitamin C, zinc and iron) than its conventional counterparts.

Comparing these two methods of farming take a different dimension if we introduce Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) foods into the mix. GMOs is used to refer to crop plants created for human or animal consumption using the latest molecular biology techniques. They are plants that have been modified in the laboratory to enhance desired traits such as increased resistance to herbicides, pest resistance or improved nutritional content. This type of farming is mostly practiced in the United States of America and even though it has a lot of promises to help reduce world hunger and reduce cost of farming, European environmental organizations and International public interest groups have been actively protesting against GM foods and recent controversial studies about the effects of genetically-modified foods on our health and environment has been called to question.

To scare me further, I read in today’s Guardian newspaper that our government is seriously looking to import GM technology via U. S. into the country. I have read all the positives of GM farming but from what I can understand the disadvantages far outweigh the advantages. Other well enlightened societies are rejecting it so I don’t think we should submit ourselves to experiments; we have not yet gotten over the Pfizer saga that happened in the north of Nigeria a while back. Yes, if it will help increase our farm yields but I’m sure there are safer alternatives we can import. We have to be alive to eat.

In Nigeria of today, I cannot categorically tell my customers which farm produce is pure organic or not because we have no labeling standards and no one is checking. Every year our government distributes fertilizers to farmers and no one regulates usage of chemicals on the farms for plants and use of antibiotics etc for animals.Our eggs yolks keep getting whiter and our chickens softer and bigger, God help us. although studies abroad say there is no difference we need studies in Nigeria because I don't think we are using these chemicals right.

We have the weekly farmers market supposedly organic farmers all over the country but if the honey they sell can be adulterated what else can you expect.

So we are back to our original quest for food safety, without proper food safety standards that emphasizes labeling, traceability and regulates farm practice we cannot know the difference between organic and non-organic foods in the market place, we are left with whatever the farmer/sales person tells us that cannot be verified.

Fruits and Veggies - Local versus Imported spot the difference

Compliments of the season, trust you had a very happy Easter.

All the talk I had last week about comparing imported fruits and vegetables to those of Nigeria took me on a trip to Shoprite, Lagos.

I went there on Easter Monday to window shop as that is my favourite hobby and luckily I have two beautiful girls that also love to window shop so it wasn’t a difficult outing with kids although I had to say no a lot of times as they pointed to so many things in the shops. 

Anyway, on this day I took my time to compare the local fruits and veggies to that of the imported varieties, the fruits and veggies at Shoprite are products of Nigeria and those of South Africa and I must tell you the difference is 7up. LOL.

I turned this into an educative session with the kids and asked them to spot the difference which they had to tell me before checking the label. It was so easy for them as they were correct at every attempt after I showed them what I was looking for.

Although it turned out to be a fun thing to do, my kids were not happy that the foreign fruits and veggies looked better than ours. When they asked for an explanation I had to just tell them it was due to the weather and the quality of seeds our farmers were planting. Why can’t we change our seeds? asked the little one of 7, I said I don’t know if it’s as simple as that but I will find out and revert.

Let me take you through the aisles and paint a picture of what went on. We started at the tomatoes section, the foreign (South Africa) tomatoes were plum,  firm, large and will obviously keep in your refrigerator for a long time. They will also look good in your salads and fresh dishes. Compared to the local tomatoes, it was not as firm, it was watery and doesn’t look like it will keep for long. My main problem with local tomatoes (the one I usually buy in Lagos market not Shoprite) is that they are not well sorted and graded so we have too many waste. 

At the lemon section, the imported lemons were large, yellow and inviting compared to the local lemon that was not good looking at all. Irish potatoes and onions were also easily differentiated. Orange;, the difference in the oranges was just too much, we have the local oranges that are a combination of yellow/green/brown  versus the imported oranges that are orange, obviously orange.

At Shoprite all local and foreign fruits/veggies are put side by side and if not for the massive price difference no one will choose the local option over the foreign.

How can we salvage this without banning the imported option?, surely there must be a lot we can do to make our local fruits and veggies as attractive as their imported counterparts. How do you want an international franchised hotel/restaurant that is used to quality and fresh foreign fruits and veggies choose to use local alternatives that do not meet up. Apart from quality, the look and feel of the produce is also important for presentation purposes as we eat first with our eyes.

I tell you the difference in price is crazy, I know for sure the hotels want to use local produce for freshness, availability and lower price but the 3 – 5 star hotels would not compromise quality for price. If we want our Tourism sector to succeed we must look into the quality of the local produce.

We need to encourage our farmers, so buying local is the way to go but is that the best way to encourage them? How can we help them improve their standards, sort, grade and use quality seeds, improve farming practice so that their produce will sell themselves in the market place?

If my little kids looked at a market stall and consistently selected imported produce over local ones then we are in trouble. Before we drag everyone into farming let us help the existing farmers to be better, more organised, more profitable etc. if farming is standardized and made profitable, Nigerians will flood there by themselves as our people need jobs and money.

We need to standardize our farming operations for it will improve the quality of our produce, reduce our waste and increase our profit. If we do that, our produce can sit side by side foreign produce and compete favorably.

Next time you are in the supermarket go through the fruit/veggies aisle and share with us your observations. I will really like to hear from you.

Cheers.

p. s. We were not allowed to take pictures of the fruits/veggies so we can't post any here.