In Nigeria’s vegetable-producing regions, farmers often face a frustrating reality: a bumper harvest (when crops yield an unusually large and abundant amount) can still mean financial loss. When market prices crash or fresh vegetables cannot be sold quickly enough, a lot of perfectly good produce might spoil before it has a chance to reach consumers.
For years, this cycle of post-harvest loss has eroded Nigerian farmers’ incomes and discouraged investment in the sector. However, at the National Horticultural Research Institute (NIHORT), research has been underway to break this cycle.
NIHORT scientists developed a unique solution to this challenge through tomato wine. By processing surplus fresh tomatoes into a shelf-stable, value-added product, they created a new market pathway for farmers to transform excess produce into a premium beverage with a longer shelf life and year-round sales potential.
For farmers, the success of tomato wine would mean lower post-harvest losses and more reliable income streams.
Yet introducing such a novel product to consumers is not without challenges. Tomato wine is unfamiliar across much of Nigeria’s population, and as with any innovation, it requires visibility, credibility, and demand to succeed. That is where HortiNigeria stepped in, facilitating business linkages and identifying ways to boost the marketability of tomato wine.
So far, tomato wine has been featured at agricultural fairs and exhibitions, where HortiNigeria showcased the product at its’ stand, including the 2023 Lagos State Agro Fair, where visitors had the chance to sample the beverage and learn about its potential to reduce waste while generating new income streams for farmers.
To build on this momentum, HortiNigeria is now working to scale up promotion through dedicated radio talk shows and targeted social media campaigns. These platforms will provide opportunities for NIHORT experts and partners to raise awareness, address consumer questions, and introduce tomato wine to wider and more diverse audiences. Plans to engage retailers to stock the product are also in progress.
For farmers, the success of tomato wine would mean lower post-harvest losses and more reliable income streams. The collaboration between NIHORT and HortiNigeria shows how pairing innovation with market linkages can turn agricultural challenges into new business opportunities. For HortiNigeria, this is another step toward building a sustainable and inclusive horticulture sector.
HortiNigeria (2021-2025) is funded by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Nigeria and implemented by IFDC, together with KIT Institute and East-West Seed Knowledge Transfer Foundation (EWS-KT).
