Government is targeting the production of about 100,000 tonnes of tomatoes from more than 10,000 acres under phase one of the Ghana Tomatoes Self-Sufficiency Initiative (GHATSI), the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Eric Opoku, has said.
At the launch of GHATSI at Anloga, in the Volta Region last Tuesday, he said the initiative, led by his ministry in partnership with FarmMate Limited, was designed to build a reliable year-round domestic tomato value chain to reduce import dependence and eventually create surplus for export.
Mr Opoku said it was appropriate to launch the programme at Anloga because of the community’s practical experience in irrigated dry-season agriculture and added that the agricultural policy must leave Accra and reach the farm.
He said despite fertile land, suitable climate, water resources and a strong domestic market, Ghana continued to spend heavily on imported fresh tomatoes and tomato products.
He said the domestic supply deficit was about 800,000 tonnes during the off-season from December to July, while at other times, farmers lost large quantities due to poor coordination of production, aggregation, processing and markets.
Plan
Under GHATSI, he said production had been linked to land, irrigation, quality inputs, technical support, financing, insurance, aggregation, processing, logistics and secured markets.
Mr Opoku said phase one, covering the 2026/2027 production period, would cover 35 districts in 10 regions and over 100 communities and would progressively scale to about 400,000 tonnes annually from over 40,000 acres.
He said at full scale, up to 200,000 tonnes would be converted into tomato purée and other value-added products, subject to expansion of processing capacity.
He said the 10,000 acres would not be planted at the same time, but based on a national production calendar to ensure successive harvests throughout the year.
According to the calendar, seeding in September would start in Talensi, Bolgatanga East, Kassena Nankana Municipal, Bawku West and Savelugu, for harvest from December to January, with production moving southwards through the middle belt to the coastal areas to complete the cycle by December 2026.
Mr Opoku said success would be measured not by acreage alone, but by tonnes produced, marketed and processed, farmers’ incomes, imports displaced, post-harvest losses reduced and sustainable jobs created.
Capacity, challenges
For his part, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of FarmMate Ltd, Sena Amevor, said so far, his outfit had cultivated 4,000 acres of tomatoes across the country under a structured nationwide production model.
He said the company had, over the past five years, conducted national and community-level needs assessments, tested different seed varieties and production methods, experimented with irrigation approaches and developed market and distribution channels.
Mr Amevor explained that about 200 acres were cultivated in the Anloga District from May to June this year and harvesting had started, while another 500 acres were cultivated across Ada East, Ningo Prampram and Shai Osudoku.
He said about 300 acres were cultivated in Asunafo South and Afigya Kwabre North, 1,500 acres across Bawku West, Talensi and Kassena Nankana started in September, with another 1,500 acres planned for Sissala West in October.
He said the goal was to reach 10,000 acres and beyond by the end of next year.
Mr Amevor said the tomato industry had exposed the challenges confronting African agriculture, including seasonal shortages, financial constraints and market failures and that solutions must be based on farmer engagement, evidence and risk sharing.
He said agriculture risk should not sit entirely with the farmer, stressing that the market could not be an afterthought, as farmers should have clarity on offtake, quality and logistics before planting.
