N20 Billion Tomato Processing Factory in Kebbi State
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Kebbi State Government and the Emirate of Yauri, recently partnered with a global leader in culinary product manufacturing, GBfoods, to establish a N20 billion Tomato processing factory in Kebbi State.
The factory is considered as the second largest in Nigeria and the only fully backward integrated plant in the ECOWAS region. The factory has the largest single tomatoes farm in Nigeria. According to the partners involved, when all phases of the project are finished, the factory will be the largest fresh tomatoes processing factory in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The world-class factory and adjoining farm include drip irrigation and fertigation infrastructure, greenhouses, seed planting robots, an incubation chambers, and a plethora of agricultural machinery.
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The project has created over 1,000 jobs including 500 farming jobs, 150 factory jobs, and 150 construction jobs. GBfoods also engaged many smallholder farmers as out-growers. Apart from training the out-growers on good agricultural practices, GBfoods provided them with tomatoes seedlings, agrochemicals, and various equipment such as water pumps and hose pipes, enabling the farmers’ access to water in the dry season.
Aside being dedicated to the out-growers, GBfoods supported the host communities by providing and maintaining 16 boreholes of drinking water, a first for some of the surrounding villages.
The Chief Executive Officer of GBfoods Africa, Mr. Vicenç Bosch, commended the federal government for encouraging and supporting GBfoods to engage with CBN, Ministries, Departments, and Agencies to ensure the successful completion of the factory. He also expressed gratitude to the Federal Ministry of Industry Trade and Investments, Federal Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development, Kebbi State Government, and the Ngaski Local Government Authorities for their tremendous support towards the actualization of the project.
According to the CEO,
“Our team of extension workers, consultants and agronomists are ensuring that the Nigerian farmers benefit from the technology transfer of our best practices and know-how built through over 40 years of successful tomato operations in Italy and Spain.”