Incoming harvests from a Tomato production collaboration between the West Africa Food System Resilience Programme (FSRP) and FarmMate Ltd in the Upper East Region are meeting targeted yields of 240 tonnes in the first round.
This forms part of interventions by FSRP - under the Ministry of Food & Agriculture, to address the yearly nationwide incidence of tomato shortages and fluctuating prices, especially during the dry season. The scheme is being carried out through financial support from the Government of Norwegian and coordinated by the World Bank to revamp the Ghanaian tomato industry for year-round availability of the produce by way of dry season production.
FSRP’s value chain commodities (rice, maize, soya, tomatoes and broiler poultry) are produced using climate-smart agricultural practices and innovations. Under the programme, farmers are receiving inputs from FSRP in the form of smart seeds, agro chemicals like enhanced blended fertilizers with micronutrients, organic manure and pesticides (organic and inorganic) and extension advisory services. FarmMate on its part, is giving farmers close extension support, monitoring and immediate offtake of harvests.
From the farms, FSRP/FarmMate tomatoes are conveyed mostly to the Greater Accra Region, to major markets (like Agbogbloshi and CMB) and premium markets (like Palace Mall and Shoprite, within 24-36 hours.
The FSRP-FarmMate collaboration is geared at leveraging productive private sector linkages with farmers to optimise the production and facilitate timely off-take and marketing of tomatoes for the fresh and value addition (tomato puree) markets. The FSRP-FarmMate collaboration covers 200 acres across the country, 110 of which are in the Upper East Regions with about 100 farmers in the Zebila (in the Bawku West District), Pwalugu (in the Talensi District) and Tono Irrigation Scheme and Navrongo (in the Kasena Nankana District). The other locations are: Ningo-Prampram, Okere, Kwahu East, Akumadan Irrigation Scheme and Asunafo South districts.
Beyond the collaborations with FarmMate, the FSRP Tomato Support Programme is being carried out in 20 Districts in six (6) regions. It involves 1,500 farmers, of which 40% are women. So far, the intervention has resulted in yields of approximately 10Tons per hectare and at the end of the 2025 dry season. Yields are expected to reach 15 Tons per hectare. FSRP targets the production of 6000 Metric tonnes of tomatoes by the end of the intervention.
Tomatoes are an essential part of the Ghanaian diet, accounting for 40 percent of vegetable expenditures. However, only 34 percent of the 1.4 million tons of tomatoes consumed annually in Ghana are produced locally. This results in substantial imports (especially between Dec and May). Challenges that confront the local tomato industry include: the use of poor-quality seeds; the absence of seeds well adapted to local seasons and climate variabilities; pests & diseases control lapses; poor agronomic/farm practices; post-harvest losses (ranging from 20% to 60%); and the absence of innovative storage methods. All these leads to low average yields of 8.3 metric tons per hectare (instead of potential yields of 20 metric tons per hectare); leading to sharp fluctuations between glut/low prices (during peak season harvests) and shortages/dramatically high prices (during off-seasons).
