Ghana’s push to achieve tomato self-sufficiency could face a significant production shortfall, with the country’s tomato supply gap potentially approaching 400,000 metric tonnes when post-harvest losses are taken into account.
The Chamber of Agribusiness Ghana says the scale of the deficit raises questions about whether government’s target of producing an additional 100,000 tonnes under the Ghana Tomato Self-Sufficiency Initiative (GHATSI) will be sufficient to close the gap.
Chief Executive Officer of the Chamber of Agribusiness Ghana, Anthony Morrison said that Ghana’s annual tomato demand is estimated at about 800,000 metric tonnes, against peak domestic production of approximately 510,000 tonnes.
On those figures, the country already faces a supply deficit of about 290,000 tonnes.
But Mr Morrison says the situation becomes more challenging when post-harvest losses, estimated at between 20% and 30%, are factored into the equation.
“That tells you that our peak supply gap is around almost 400,000.”
His comments come shortly after the launch of GHATSI, which seeks to produce 100,000 tonnes of tomatoes from more than 10,000 acres across 35 districts in 10 regions.
While welcoming efforts to increase domestic production, the Chamber says government must provide greater clarity on the assumptions underpinning the 100,000-tonne target.
Mr Morrison wants to know whether the additional output will come from new farmers, expanded production by existing farmers, increased acreage, or improved yields.
“How do we mitigate that with regards to working around bringing on board additional 100,000? Are these additional 100,000 new farmers or already existing farmers?”
He also questioned whether the more than 10,000 acres identified under the initiative represent entirely new farmland or an expansion of acreage already under tomato cultivation.
“If they are already existing farmers, are their current crop size being increased? By what? Who is doing the data analysis?”
For the Chamber, the distinction is critical because simply counting acreage without establishing the expected yield per acre may not provide a reliable measure of the initiative’s potential contribution to national supply.
Seed performance
The Chamber is also raising concerns about the performance of some tomato seeds distributed to farmers under government-supported programmes.
Mr Morrison said data being compiled by the Chamber points to challenges in some parts of the country.
“From our data that we are currently building up, there are already challenges with some of the seeds that have been distributed across the country.”
He cited parts of the northern regions and the Adan area, where some farmers have reportedly recorded poor results.
He also pointed to farmers in Kpetoe, who have begun late-season tomato production after disappointing outcomes from earlier cultivation.
These concerns could have implications for the 100,000-tonne target if seed performance translates into lower yields or forces farmers to replant, delay production or absorb additional costs.
The Chamber is further questioning the decision to implement the tomato self-sufficiency initiative through a single private-sector partner.
Mr Morrison argues that other large-scale tomato producers and industry players should be incorporated into the programme to broaden production capacity and reduce implementation risks.
“For me, that is a problem.”
He added: “We need to be working as an inclusive system that governs key players to be able to address this.”
