THE Ministry of Food and Agriculture has entered into an agreement with private firm FarmMate for the production and processing of tomato for the Ghanaian market.
Under the agreement, the ministry would provide the enabling environment and coordination whiles FarmMate leads implementation, production and value chain operations.
FarmMate is expected to, in collaboration with individual tomato farmers, cultivate 40,000 acres of the vegetable with an output expectation of over 400,000 tonnes of fresh tomatoes.
Supported by a 20 tonnes per hour processing plant, the deal is projected to deliver 200,000 tonnes of tomato puree annually with pack houses pre-processing centres, and logistics hubs across key farming zones.
When fully operational, the agreement is expected to result in the production of 600,000 tonnes of fresh tomatoes annually.
At the pact signing ceremony in Accra yesterday, the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Eric Opoku, said the deal will be the game-changer in addressing Ghana’s 800,000 metric tonnes tomato import dependence.
“This will address tomato price volatility, reduce losses during glut periods, and create over 300,000 jobs along the value chain,” he stated.
According to him, the agreement would ensure guaranteed take-off for farmers, improve their incomes and confidence to scale up as it delivers consistent quality supply for traders, processors, and consumers.
He described the deal as “a practical, scalable, and sustainable national solution and demonstrates what government and private sector can achieve together.”
As part of creating the enabling environment, Mr Opoku explained that the government would make available to FarmMate the Pwalugu tomato processing factory for its use to achieve the end goal of significantly reducing Ghana’s dependence on imported tomato.
He said the government had procured improved tomato seedlings and is set to distribute them to farmers across the country to boost Ghana’s production capacity.
On his part, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of FarmMate, Sena Amevor, assured that they would deliver on their side of the deal and called on other stakeholders at all levels to support the initiative.
“This agreement represents not just a formal partnership, but a decisive step toward building a resilient, self-sufficient, and commercially viable tomato and vegetable industry in Ghana. With strong government support and a proven private sector-led model, FarmMate remains committed to delivering long-term impact by securing livelihoods, stabilising markets, and ensuring year-round availability of tomato and vegetable products for the nation,” Mr Amevor assured.
BY JULIUS YAO PETETSI
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