The National Horticultural Research Institute (NIHORT) has released four new, high-performing varieties of tomato and pepper. The announcement, made by the Executive Director, NIHORT, Prof Mohammed Atanda, signals a significant stride towards enhancing food security, boosting farmers’ incomes, and reducing the nation’s reliance on imported vegetable seeds
The newly unveiled varieties, comprising two tomato cultivars – HortiTom4 and Hortitom5 – and two yellow aromatic pepper cultivars – HortiPep1 and HortiPep2 – and Release of Crop Varieties, Livestock/Fisheries on April 15, 2025.
The development comes as a direct response to the persistent challenges faced by Nigerian tomato and pepper farmers, including low yields, susceptibility to devastating diseases, and the use of local varieties with suboptimal fruit quality.
Atanda emphasised the critical importance of the breakthrough for the Nigerian agricultural landscape. “Tomato is an indispensable vegetable in Nigerian households, playing a vital role in our daily diets, ensuring food security, and generating income and employment across its value chain.
“However, the national average tomato yield of 3.4 tonnes per hectare has consistently lagged behind global standards and that of other African nations. This is largely due to challenges such as susceptibility to diseases, particularly bacterial wilt, and the use of less productive local varieties,” he stated.
He detailed the impressive yield potential and maturity period of the new tomato varieties. “Farmers can expect a maturity period of 80 to 90 days with these new cultivars, and the potential yields are truly remarkable, ranging from 21.7 to 27.2 tons per hectare for HortiTom5 and HortiTom4, respectively. This represents a substantial improvement over the existing average yields, which typically fluctuate between 3.9 and 10 tons across Nigeria’s diverse ecological zones. These varieties are also well-adapted to the rainforest, derived guinea, and Sudan Savanna ecologies, ensuring their suitability for a wide range of farming environments across the country,” he said.
Atanda underscored the growing demand for high-quality, aromatic hot peppers in Nigeria. “Pepper is a high-value crop, integral to our culinary traditions and a sought-after ingredient in various food preparations. However, pepper cultivation in Nigeria has been hampered by issues such as the lack of quality seeds, vulnerability to pests and diseases, and the absence of improved, high-yielding varieties adapted to our local conditions, leading to disappointing returns for our farmers,” he noted.
