GHANA: TOMATO FARMERS CRY FOR IMPROVED SEEDS

GHANA: TOMATO FARMERS CRY FOR IMPROVED SEEDS

 

Edward Adeti’s Report, Bolga, Upper East

 

The Tomato Producers Association of Nyariga (TOPAN), a group reputed to have played an advocacy role in revamping the Pwalugu Tomato Factory now renamed the Northern Star Tomato Factory, says the absence of improved tomato variety is impacting negatively on livelihoods in the Upper East Region and beyond.

 

Research findings by the group show that tomato farmers do not have access to improved seeds and workers at the Northern Star Tomato Factory, due to lack of fresh tomato to process, only work for two months in a year and spend the remaining ten months at leisure.

 

Conducted this year by TOPAN with support from the Business Sector Advocacy Challenge (BUSAC) Fund, the research exercise involved the Vea Irrigation Project Area, the Tono Irrigation Project Area, Pwalugu in the Upper East Region as well as Akumadaa and Tuobodom in the Brong Ahafo Region.

 

 

Mr. John Akaribo, a leading trustee of the group who presented the findings at a press conference in Bolgatanga, expressed fears that tomato farmers might be out of business soon and the tomato factory would relapse into a white elephant if the situation was not addressed early enough.

 

According to the research findings, 75% of respondents interviewed can longer cope with the situation and they find it “extremely difficult” to pay back loans “due to low yields”. Lack of improved seeds, the research discovers, is the most challenging factor in tomato production in both the Upper East Region and the Brong Ahafo Region. It is followed by marketing difficulty and, then, land inaccessibility. 97% of respondents, according to the findings, declared that tomato production “is near impossible” during raining season in the Upper East Region.

 

“For the past five years, the varieties that tomato farmers use are no longer disease-resistant as 95% of respondents indicated. Yields are generally low, less than 40 crates per acre. Pectomech and ‘No Name’ are the most used varieties currently by Upper East Region farmers whilst Power Rano and Power Raster are mostly used by Brong Ahafo tomato farmers. The Power Rano, which used to be highly resistant, recently could not withstand the diseases again as indicated by the chief farmer of Tuobodom,” Mr. Akaribo said.     

 

The TOPAN, therefore, recommended the introduction of what it called “National Seed Strategy”. It said the Strategy should provide farmers with a reliable source of appropriate seeds and technical support. It further suggested that such research institutions as the Savannah Agricultural Research Institute (SARI) and the University for Development Studies (UDS) should double up their efforts at getting improved varieties suitable for all-year-round production.

 

“Government needs to consciously support the research institutions to specifically tackle the seed issue if we want to remain in tomato business as done by the Burkina Faso Government. A survey about the varieties and mode of cultivation of Burkina Faso tomato farmers is highly recommended. Tomato producers in Ghana must make efforts to collaborate with their counterparts in Burkina Faso for exchange of ideas and sharing of information on production and marketing purposes,” it proposed.

 

Contributing, Mr. Richard Ananga, a BUSAC Fund consultant, reiterated the commitment of the Fund to clearing out the bottlenecks corrupting the business environment in the country. He said the press conference with TOPAN formed part of the much-promised action plan geared towards raising public awareness about the challenges thwarting farmers’ efforts and getting support for them.

 

Mr. Ananga hinted that there would be a stakeholders and dialogue meeting with government research institutions in the region as a follow-up action before the end of this year. The meeting will bring together officials from SARI, UDS as well as the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) and the Northern Rural Growth Programme (NRGP).