Twenty young farmers are expected to receive sponsorship from Deputy Agriculture Minister, John Dumelo for the production of high quality tomatoes during the dry season.
Slated to kick off in September, Mr. Dumelo who’s sponsoring the farmers with his personal finances, said the selection will be based on land availability and already cleared.
In a post sighted by the Ghanaian Farmer on X and Facebook on May 29, the minister and Member of Parliament for Ayawaso West Wuogon revealed that interested applicants must have a minimum land size of 2 acres and a maximum of 20 acres.
He explained that the sponsorship package will come in the form of input and services. It will cover tractor services, fertilizer, seeds, agricultural extension services, weed and pest control, irrigation systems, and access to a ready market for harvested tomatoes.
“I want to personally sponsor 20 young farmers who want to do dry season Tomato farming this year,” he wrote.
The farmer cum politician further noted that the pilot initiative is expected to cultivate over 400 acres of tomatoes during the dry season, with plans for expansion if successfully done.
“This is a personal pilot project and hopefully we can collectively cultivate over 400 acres of tomatoes this year during the dry season. Together let’s make this work. #idey4u,” he added.
Reacting to the posts online, netizens commended the Minister saying the project expected will go a long way to encourage participation in agriculture and also improve tomato production during Ghana’s dry season farming period.
Ghana heavily relies on tomato importation from neighbouring Burkina Faso to meet its domestic demands.
Recently, some importers were attacked leading to the loss of lives. This created fear and raised concerns over Ghana’s inability to produce the staple crops despite its vast landscape.
Some experts argue that tomato production goes beyond land availability. It needs proper planning and investment and this is what Ghana has failed to do over the years.
With this initiative from the Deputy Agriculture Minister where it appears to be full package including irrigation, it will further push stakeholders especially the Ministry for Food and Agriculture to put stringent measures and investments in place to reduce Ghana’s heavy reliance on Burkina Faso for its fresh tomato needs.
