Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu says one of the agencies under his ministry has developed a pesticide that is very effective against tomato Pest Tuta absoluta which has recently ravaged tomato farms in Nigeria, causing tomato scarcity.
Onu made this known in Abuja on Friday in a meeting with a delegation from the KIDS-FEST who paid him a visit in his office. KIDs-Fest Foundation is part of a global project founded by a German woman named Sussane Prahl in Sarajevo over a decade ago.
According to the Minister, the National Institute for Chemical Technology, (NARICT) in Zaria developed the pesticide agent using natural resources available in Nigeria.
He said that the pesticide was a ready solution to the rampaging pest and that there was no reason whatsoever to “go outside the country to import a solution”.
“Nigeria, following the leadership provided by President Muhammadu Buhari will soon be in a position where other nations can copy from her rather than Nigeria copying at all times from other nations,” he stated.
