Ghana introduces five new tomato varieties, says Agyekum
The varieties were developed with assistance from the West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement and the Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research CSIR
The government has successfully introduced five new tomato varieties in the country’s history, Esther Agyekum, the deputy director of agriculture and vegetable lead for the Planting for Food and Jobs initiative, has said.
The varieties were developed with assistance from the West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement and the Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research CSIR.
The move is aimed at helping Ghana achieve its target of 108% sufficiency in tomatoe production in the long term. Currently, Ghana has a 27% sufficiency in tomato, forcing traders to import the vegetable from Burkina Faso.
Trade data from the Ghana Vegetable Producers and Exporters Association (Ghana Vegetables) indicate that annual tomato import from neighbouring Burkina Faso has hit a staggering US$400 million from an estimated US$99.5 million in 2018.
Speaking to Kwaku Nhyira-Addo on the Asaase Breakfast Show on Wednesday (29 November), Agyekum said the new varieties coupled with other interventions being rolled out by the government will make Ghana self-sufficient in terms of tomato production.
“I must also point out that in the medium to long term [the] government is working with our universities and research institutions specifically West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement and Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research to develop and introduce improved varieties to farmers.
“At the moment it is refreshing to note that five of these tomato varieties have been released locally and this is the first time in the history of Ghana that we have produced our own locally bred seeds,” she said.
“So, two of them, the two from CSIR Crop Research are open pollinated varieties (OPVS), then three of the varieties from WACI are the hybrids and the yields are very interesting,” Agyekum said.
Listen to Esther Agyekum in the audio clip below:
Watch the full interview in the attached video clip below:
Reporting by Fred Dzakpata in Accra
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