Tomato Glut Hits Brong Ahafo

TOMATO FARMERS in the Brong Ahafo region are in a limbo, following a glut of the vegetable in the region. 

Some farmers have even refused to harvest the vegetables, claiming that “it is better to leave them to rot on the fields rather than to spend time and money to harvest due to the unacceptable prices being offered by business women.”  

As at the time of filing this report, a crate of tomatoes was selling at GH¢8 at the Techiman market.

Farmers who went for loans to cultivate tomatoes are in a fix because they are finding it difficult to pay their loans.  As a result, some farmers have committed suicide while others are running away to avoid arrest by creditors.

Several young men and women have also left their towns and villages, with others traveling to Libya through the desert.

Business in tomato growing areas like Akomadan, Afrancho, Derma, Bechem, Tuobodom, Techimantia and others has gone down drastically.  

When this reporter visited Tuobodom, a major tomato producing area in the Techiman Municipality, several crates of tomatoes were sighted along the main road of the town.

Speaking to DAILY GUIDE in an interview, Akwasi Takyia, a 48-year-old tomato farmer, said he had never experienced such calamity.

He noted that the only year that the farmers experienced such a glut was in 1987, adding that there were buyers in that particular year.

Mr. Takyia appealed to the government to complete the Techiman tomato factory, which was started by the previous New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration to prevent such situations in future.

“If the factory starts to operate, farmers in Brong Ahafo Region would be able to supply it with the raw materials all year round,” he added.  

Madam Abena Nsiah who sells tomatoes at the Techiman market told CITY& BUSINESS GUIDE that all her working capital had gone into the selling of tomatoes.

“I pay the school fees of my three children in the senior high school because I am a widow; but as it stands now, things will be difficult for me when school re-opens.

“Businesswomen travel from Accra to Burkina Faso to purchase tomatoes, claiming that tomatoes from Burkina Faso are durable,” she stressed.

A businesswoman, Naa Adortey told this paper that farmers in Burkina Faso use a particular type of chemical to spray their vegetables to make them more resistant to the hash whether.

From Eric Bawah, Tuobodom