Ghana’s 108% target to achieve tomato sufficiency possible, says Agyekum
Currently, Ghana has a 27% sufficiency in tomato, forcing traders to import the vegetable from its neighbour Burkina Faso
Esther Agyekum, the deputy director of agriculture and vegetable lead for Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) has said the government’s quest to achieve 108% self-sufficiency in tomato production by 2028 is achievable.
Currently, Ghana has a 27% sufficiency in tomato, forcing traders to import the vegetable from its neighbour Burkina Faso.
Trade data from the Ghana Vegetable Producers and Exporters Association (Ghana Vegetables) indicate that annual tomato import from Burkina Faso has hit a staggering US$400 million from an estimated US$99.5 million in 2018.
New tomato varieties
“So, within the framework of the phase two of Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ), the plan is to achieve a national sufficiency of 108% by 2028 and the specific strategies to achieve these are well laid out,” Agyekum said.
“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.
“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 added.
Listen to Esther Agyekum in the attached audio clip below:
Reporting by Fred Dzakpata in Accra
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