Government targets end to tomato imports within four months
The Minister for Food and Agriculture, Eric Opoku, says government interventions to boost domestic tomato production are expected to produce visible results within the next three to four months, paving the way for Ghana to significantly reduce—and eventually end—its reliance on imported tomatoes.
Speaking before Parliament's Select Committee on Assurances, the Minister said the government had already begun implementing a series of measures aimed at increasing local tomato production, particularly to reduce imports from neighbouring Burkina Faso.
"We have started working on that challenge, and we are bent on reversing that story. Within the next three or four months, the results will be out there for Ghanaians to testify," he said.
Mr Opoku appeared before the committee to provide updates on commitments made by President John Dramani Mahama in the 2025 State of the Nation Address.
He explained that the government is investing heavily in irrigation infrastructure to support year-round tomato cultivation in key farming areas across the country. The interventions include the drilling of boreholes, installation of solar-powered irrigation pumps and fencing of farms to protect crops from destruction by roaming livestock.
According to him, several irrigation projects are already underway in major tomato-producing communities.
The Minister said President Mahama has taken a personal interest in achieving self-sufficiency in tomato production.
"President Mahama himself has taken special interest in this, and he says that we should bring an end to the importation of tomatoes into this country, and we'll do just that," Mr Opoku stated.
Touching on the recent decline in food prices, Mr Opoku acknowledged concerns about the impact on farmers' incomes despite the relief lower prices have brought to consumers.
Responding to issues raised by the Chairman of the Committee, Dominic Nitiwul, he explained that the current situation reflects what agricultural economists describe as a "good-bad" scenario, where increased food production benefits consumers through lower prices but reduces farmers' earnings because of excess supply.
He contrasted the situation with the food shortages experienced during the 2024 dry spell, when prices soared and many households struggled to afford food, while farmers who harvested crops earned higher incomes.
"The bad-good is when there is a shortage of food in the system, like we witnessed in 2024 because of the dry spell. Then food prices started going up. A lot of people were pushed into abject poverty because of the rising food prices.
"But the farmers who were able to produce little made a lot of money because of the rising prices. So, for the farmers, it was good, but for the nation, it was bad. Now we find ourselves as a nation in this situation. I am a farmer. I am suffering. But the nation is the beneficiary," he said.
To cushion farmers against falling market prices, the Minister disclosed that proposals have been submitted to President Mahama and Cabinet for consideration.
He said one of the immediate interventions under consideration is the provision of free fertiliser to help reduce farmers' production costs and sustain their interest in farming while the government pursues long-term solutions through agro-processing, value addition and the creation of reliable markets for agricultural produce.