Date: 2016-10-07

A Zimbabwean farmer, Alvin Reid has disclosed that arrangements are in top gear towards establishing a Tomato Paste Factory worth 35million Euros in Shonga Farms in Edu Local Government Area of Kwara State.

Reid, who owns Shonga Dairy Farm 3, in an exclusive chat with our reporter on Tuesday at Shonga, that the factory would be bigger than Dangote's Tomato Plant in Kano. Besides, the White farmer disclosed that the establishment of cassava factory is in the offing, a plant which he said, would produce 60,000 tones of cassava flour per hour.

Shonga Farms is the brainchild of Governor Bukola Saraki-led administration in 2008 with a view to making Kwara a hub of commercial farming. The establishment, which according to him is in its advanced stage, would ensure the white farmers plant 1,000 hectares of tomatoes in Tshonga Farms, to serve as raw materials for the factory.

"We are in advanced stage and early next year, construction would begin. The factory will generate thousands of employment," Reid hinted. On the cassava factory, he noted that there would be sharp reduction in the importation of flour, adding that it would further enhance collaboration between the white farmers and local counterpart in growing thousands hectares of cassava.

"The factory will take 18months to be completed, we plan to start construction early next year, once the factory is up & running, we will need to cultivate several thousand hectares of cassava, we are also in partnership with the locals, we'll finance them to grow & sell to us" Prior to the astronomical increase in dollar value, it was not economically viable to grow cassava here as it was cheaper importing wheat, but now the reverse is the case"

"the factory would be the biggest cassava processing factory in West Africa, with capacity of producing 60,000 metric tonnes of flour, per hour. While our Tomato paste will be the biggest in the Sub-region, it's bigger than Dangote paste factory in Kano"

"By early 2017, the construction of the factory will commence, we will also grow tomato on 1000 thousand hectares per annum, we are looking at providing a thousands of employment". " The financial implications of setting up the factory is 35 million Euros & it is under Goldie logo farms" He stressed.