Insufficient investment in cold storage facilities and transportation infrastructure must be tackled head on to combat post-harvest losses.
Every year, Ghana loses some US$600million in overall post-harvest losses, according to the Chamber of Agribusiness Ghana (CAG).
It is in view of this that the CAG has tasked stakeholders, including government, to adequately prepare for the incoming tomato bumper season in order to reduce age-old inevitable post-harvest losses.
CAG explained that the upcoming tomato bumper season will span late December through April and May 2025. The seeming lack of priority for the above has largely accounted for reliance on imports from countries like Burkina Faso and Morocco.
Mr. Anthony Selorm Morrison, CEO-CAG, blames the problem on neglected rural infrastructure, inadequate cold chain and storage facilities and limited support for research.
Government has not prioritised the development of essential infrastructure in rural areas, as poor road networks and lack of a reliable transportation system hinder efficient movement of tomatos from the farms to market centres.
The lack of storage facilities, despite tomato’s known perishability, has resulted in significant losses – a situation that forces farmers to sell their products quickly at low prices to avoid spoilage.
As the peak harvest season is just three months away, the Chamber is requesting government support for farmers to put measures in place that guard against the potential looming losses.
In fact, Mr. Morrision is of the view that the country has potential to transform its tomato industry by addressing challenges of varietal suitability, infrastructure deficits, access to inputs & financing, and market development.
This could enable the country to emerge as a net exporter, contributing significantly to food security and economic growth.
The country spends substantial amounts of foreign exchange on tomato importation. In 2022, the Vegetable Producers Association of Ghana estimated that the country spends approximately US$400million annually on importing fresh tomatoes, primarily from Burkina Faso.
This significant outflow of foreign exchange, according to the National Food Buffer Company, causes the country’s dependency on imports and underscores the urgent need to revive and boost local production.
As food inflation in the country continues to rise, further pushing national inflation to unprecedented levels, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has also urged government to invest in a comprehensive storage strategy to deal with post-harvest losses in the country.
