Ghana’s heavy reliance on rain-fed agriculture is limiting its potential in tomato production, according to the Chairman of the Tomatoes Importers Association, Eric Osei Tuffuor.
Mr. Tuffuor said the country’s underutilisation of irrigation systems has made it difficult for farmers to produce tomatoes consistently throughout the year, as large-scale cultivation is largely confined to the rainy season.
He made these remarks during an interview on A1 Radio’s Daybreak Upper East.
“A lot of farmers in the Bono, Bono East, Ashanti and Eastern Region can produce during the lean season but water is their problem. The irrigation is not present in those places I have mentioned. During that period, we do not have any tomatoes in the country, unless we go to Burkina Faso to be able to buy and supply our local market,” he explained.
Speaking on production in the Upper East Region, Mr. Tuffuor recalled a time when farmers in the area were able to produce tomatoes in quantities sufficient to meet national demand.
“But it came to a point, the variety they were producing was not suitable for Ghanaian consumption. The water content was very high. When you travel with such tomatoes, the period you can keep it is limited. When you get to a market centre, the tomatoes would start deteriorating,” he said.
He noted that this challenge pushed traders to look beyond Ghana’s borders for more durable tomato varieties that could withstand transportation and reduce financial losses.
According to him, Burkina Faso capitalised on Ghana’s demand by expanding irrigation infrastructure and supporting farmers to scale up production.
“As I am speaking now, they are having about 111 dams. These are not small dams. These are big dams all over the country. About five cars can park around one dam and all these cars would be filled with tomatoes. And each car takes about 120 boxes. In short, our irrigation facilities here in Ghana is not enough to support the production of tomatoes for our consumption,” he said.
A1 Radio | 101.1 Mhz | Mark Kwasi Ahumah Smith | Bolgatanga
