Lecturer at the Plant and Environmental Biology at the University of Ghana, Professor Oteng Yeboah is calling on government to as a matter of urgency pay particular attention to the production of tomatoes in Ghana. 

Prices of tomatoes have gone up at the markets due to strike by importers and transporters of tomatoes.

But Professor Oteng Yeboah tells Joy Business government must commit to building the local capacity of tomato producers to enable the country compete among it West African neighbours.

“The science part is where you’re understanding the conditions that are good for the crop yield and one of them is water supply. Tomato, when you look at the different variety, they demand regimes of moisture, that one is basically the science. When you understand the variety and apply it, we have all of it here,”

He also indicated that “so we must do enough and provide the avenue for our local producers to meet the standard.”

“When you go to the northern part of Ashanti Region, they do a lot of tomato cropping, but it appears that their husbandry is not good enough,” he noted.

Transporters and importers of tomatoes from Burkina Faso embarked on a strike earlier this month to register their displeasure against alleged highway robberies and lack of support from government.

 This resulted in the increase in the prices of the vegetable on the market.