DAILY POST gathered that three pieces of tomatoes and pepper are now sold for N1000 and N500, up from N100 and N50 a few months ago in most markets across Nigeria. This indicates that the price of tomatoes and peppers increased by 900 percent in the period under review. Speaking on the price hike, Jibrin noted that the supply of tomatoes and peppers to Lagos from other states dropped significantly due to insecurity and plant diseases.
'We expect tomatoes from the North to be available at this time, but because of the tomato Ebola disease, we cannot have sufficient supply. 'Let's assume that we have 5000 farmers in the country, less than 1500 are farming with their eyes closed. Most farmers in the North are currently in internally displaced camps. If Nigeria cannot tackle insecurity, the prices of tomatoes, peppers, and other perishables will continue to go up. Farmers are not going to the farm due to insecurity.