The Head of Protocol at the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), Mr. Justice Quarm, has admitted that the ban on tomato imports from Burkina Faso will significantly affect Ghana.

Speaking on Adom FM’s Dwaso Nsem, he explained that this is not the first time Ghana has experienced such a situation.

He recalled that between November and December 2024, following political developments in Burkina Faso, authorities there restricted tomato exports, leading to a sharp increase in prices in Ghana.

According to him, when the National Democratic Congress government assumed office, the Ministry engaged farmer associations to find lasting solutions to the recurring problem.

He said key challenges identified included the lack of irrigation systems, inadequate funding, and limited access to farming equipment.

In response, the Ministry supported farmers to boost local production, which at one point led to an abundance of tomatoes, prompting the government to intervene through buffer stock purchases.

However, he noted that a major challenge remains the type of tomato species produced locally, which affects quality and demand.

To address this, he said the government has encouraged the formation of cooperatives to improve large-scale production and has also cut sod for the construction of a tomato processing plant.

Despite these interventions, he admitted that the current ban will still impact Ghanaians, as many of the long-term measures have not yet fully materialised.

“The current ban is going to really hit Ghanaians because all the measures the Ministry and government have put in place to boost local tomato production have not yet fully materialised,” he added.

He further noted that the government is taking additional steps, including plans to establish a farm service centre at Afram Plains, where improved tomato and vegetable seedlings will be made available to farmers.