World Bank secures $20million grant to address tomato supply disruptions in Ghana

The World Bank has secured a $20 million grant from the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs to help Ghana mitigate the impact of a potential tomato shortage.

The intervention follows an export ban by Burkina Faso, a major supplier of tomatoes to Ghana, which has disrupted supply chains and raised fears of shortages and rising market prices.

Speaking at a World Bank and civil society organisations engagement on food security in Accra, Agricultural Economist Ashwini Sebastian said the initiative will focus on strengthening supply systems, improving storage, and boosting local production.

She noted that the programme will be implemented in collaboration with local tomato traders to ensure targeted and effective interventions.

“Our colleagues from the Dutch embassy will come in. We have been able to leverage that small grant to get a $20 million grant for tomato interventions in Ghana from the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and so we are in the phase of designing that intervention.

“We will reach out to the tomato association more because we have been having some debates about location and trying to cluster the intervention,” she said.