Prof. Emmanuel Oladipo, a consultant with the Global Environment Facility, an NGO, has urged the Federal Government to research the current tomato crisis in the country.
Oladipo made the call on Wednesday in Kano at a stakeholders’ workshop with the theme: “Targeting Interventions to Foster Sustainable and Resilient Food Security in Northern Nigeria”.
He said the investigation would go a long way in preventing a repeat of the crisis.
“We’ve done no research. I’m sure if America was the one having this tomato problem, there would have been a national committee, technical committee that will go and do in-depth research as to what actually happened.
“Let’s do research. By not doing research, even this Boko Haram problem, we created it. We never even bothered when people are saying `this is happening’, do research’.
“How are you even sure it is unemployment that is even causing it (Boko Haram), but everybody is saying it is unemployment.
“There are certain fundamental, socio-cultural things that we need to accept and then see how we can use it to solve problems. Research is very critical.”
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the workshop aimed to promote the sustainable management and resilience of ecosystem as a means to address food insecurity in Northern Nigeria.