Sustainability in Transition: Climate Resilience in Nigeria’s Tomato Value Chain
- Leti Kleyn
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
Updated: 19 hours ago
The earth is speaking louder than ever, through floods that swallow fields and droughts that silence them. Each season, the rhythms of Nigeria's farmlands grow more uncertain, testing the resilience of those who depend on them. World Sustainability Day reminds us that the fight for sustainability is not about ideals on paper but about preserving the hands that feed us. It is about transforming vulnerability into strength, especially in sectors like tomato farming, where the changing climate has become both a threat and a call to innovate.
Agriculture lies at the heart of this challenge. With over 70% of Nigeria's rural population depending on farming for livelihood, climate resilience is no longer optional but essential. Among the country's key crops, tomatoes offer a striking case study of vulnerability and potential. Despite being one of Nigeria's most cultivated and consumed vegetables, tomato production is increasingly threatened by erratic rainfall, prolonged dry spells, pest outbreaks, and heat stress. These climate-induced pressures reduce yields, destabilise farmer incomes, and heighten national food insecurity.
Sustainability is about protecting the environment, ensuring livelihoods, promoting nutrition, and upholding dignity. Every adaptive step we take, every seed improved, every farmer trained, and every innovation scaled strengthens our collective capacity to feed the future.
Climate Vulnerability and the Need for Adaptation
Nigeria's tomato farmers are on the frontline of climate vulnerability. Many smallholders still depend on rain-fed cultivation and lack access to irrigation, improved seed varieties, and weather information. As temperatures rise and rainfall patterns become increasingly unpredictable, the window for planting and harvesting narrows, thereby increasing the risk of crop failure and post-harvest loss. Building adaptive capacity within this value chain means strengthening the ability of actors from farmers to processors to anticipate, absorb, and recover from shocks. Climate-smart interventions such as drought-tolerant tomato varieties, affordable irrigation systems, and efficient storage and processing infrastructure can make the entire chain more resilient.
To translate these insights into action, several priority interventions emerge:
On-Farm Interventions:
Promote and distribute drought-tolerant and climate-resilient tomato seed varieties.
You can expand the adoption of solar-powered drip irrigation systems to optimise water use and reduce dependence on erratic rainfall.
Could you provide farmers with timely weather information and accurate climate forecasts to inform their planting and harvesting decisions?
Farmer Empowerment and Support:
Conduct training programs on climate-smart agricultural practices tailored to local contexts.
Enhance access to credit and financing to enable smallholder farmers to invest in adaptive technologies that support their sustainable development.
Strengthen farmer cooperatives to encourage cost-sharing, collective bargaining, and knowledge exchange.
Infrastructure and Post-Harvest Management:
Invest in renewable-powered cold storage facilities to reduce spoilage.
Develop processing hubs that minimise post-harvest losses, add value, and stabilise market supply.
Despite being one of Nigeria's most cultivated and consumed vegetables, tomato production is increasingly threatened by erratic rainfall, prolonged dry spells, pest outbreaks, and heat stress.
Sustainability Through Collaboration
True sustainability in agriculture cannot be achieved in isolation. It requires partnerships that span research, policy, and private investment. Research institutions must continue to develop climate-resilient seed varieties, while policymakers create enabling environments for their adoption. Equally, the private sector can drive change by investing in renewable-powered irrigation systems, cold storage networks, and processing plants located near key production zones. Through these collaborations, adaptation shifts from a reactive measure to a proactive system, one that is anchored in innovation, inclusion, and shared accountability.
Collaboration and Policy Directions
Role-players can foster cross-sector partnerships that connect research institutions, extension services, and industry players. Policymakers can create and enforce policies that encourage the adoption of climate-resilient technologies and integrate sustainability goals into agricultural planning and investment frameworks.
Towards a Sustainable Future
As World Sustainability Day is marked, Nigeria's path forward must be rooted in climate adaptation, resilience, and inclusivity. The tomato value chain, although challenged, offers a microcosm of what is possible when sustainability is pursued in conjunction with science, policy, and community action. Sustainability is about protecting the environment, ensuring livelihoods, promoting nutrition, and upholding dignity. Every adaptive step we take, every seed improved, every farmer trained, and every innovation scaled strengthens our collective capacity to feed the future. Nigeria's tomato sector's future and national food security depend on how we act today: sustainably, collaboratively, and with the next generation in mind.
Dr Ololade Abdulrahman | Research Fellow in the FAR-LeaF II programme
