Ghana industry group pushes 90-day tomato production plan after Burkina Faso export ban
A tomato shortage in Ghana after Burkina Faso halted exports has triggered calls for an emergency production program to deliver domestic supply within 60 to 90 days.
Rev. John Awuni, chairman of the Food and Beverages Association of Ghana, has called for urgent government action after a sharp tomato supply crisis exposed the country’s dependence on imports. The trigger was Burkina Faso’s export ban, which disrupted flows of a basic food commodity and quickly turned tomato availability into a national policy issue.
Awuni said that if Ghana’s Ministry of Food and Agriculture cannot mobilize the country to produce tomatoes within 60 to 90 days, it has no justification to exist in its current form. He described the crisis as a sign of dangerous weakness, poor planning and policy failure despite the country’s large areas of arable land, irrigation systems, research institutions and extension capacity.
FABAG argues that tomatoes are a short-cycle crop that can be planted and harvested within two to three months if irrigation and improved seed systems are properly used. In that view, the shortage is not being caused by structural impossibility but by weak execution. The association specifically pointed to irrigation schemes such as Vea, Tono, Botanga, Kpong and Dawhenya, as well as access to fertilizers, pesticides, mechanization centers and agricultural expertise.
The group wants an emergency national tomato program that can begin delivering results within three months. Its immediate recommendations include distributing improved seeds nationwide within two weeks, subsidizing fertilizers and agrochemicals, activating irrigation systems for dry-season production and mobilizing unemployed youth into commercial tomato farming.
FABAG also wants guaranteed prices for farmers, support for greenhouse production, the revival of tomato processing factories and new investment in cold storage and transport to reduce post-harvest losses. Beyond the immediate crisis, the association says Ghana should target full tomato self-sufficiency within one year so that future external shocks do not destabilize the market in the same way.
Awuni framed the issue as more than an agricultural shortfall. Depending on another country for a staple food item, he said, is a national security risk. His warning was blunt: today it is tomatoes, tomorrow it could be another essential product, so economic security should be treated as national security.
The association also called for deeper institutional reform. If the ministry fails to act within the proposed timeline, FABAG says the government should consider restructuring it into a production-focused agricultural authority with clear targets and accountability. The remarks are likely to intensify debate over Ghana’s farm strategy and its exposure to external disruptions in regional food supply chains.