The Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana has called on government to roll out an emergency response plan to avert a looming tomato shortage, following a temporary halt in exports from Burkina Faso.
The warning comes amid ongoing negotiations between Ghana and Burkina Faso after authorities in Ouagadougou closed their borders to tomato traders. The decision followed the tragic killing of several Burkinabè tomato traders in Ghana, an incident that has heightened tensions and disrupted cross-border trade in the commodity.
Speaking at a World Bank Civil Society Organisation engagement on food security in Accra on Tuesday, March 24, President of the association, Wepia Addo Awal Adugwala, cautioned that failure to resolve the impasse could trigger sharp price increases, supply shortfalls, and added strain on local producers.
Within this period, the government should quickly set up an emergency strategic response plan with stakeholders to address the looming shortage of tomatoes, in case engagements with Burkina Faso prove futile,” he said.
He proposed a multi-phase strategy to cushion the impact, including expanding access to irrigable land, supporting more farmers to scale up production, and strengthening market systems through improved storage, cold chain infrastructure, and better coordination between traders and transporters.
In the long term, Adugwala stressed the need for sustained investment in irrigation, urging government to construct at least one major irrigation dam in every region and significantly increase Ghana’s irrigable land.
We should aim at increasing our percentage of irrigable land from the current 10 percent to over 50 percent by 2028,” he added.
The situation underscores Ghana’s heavy reliance on Burkina Faso for tomato imports and highlights the vulnerability of local supply chains to external shocks, reinforcing calls for increased domestic production and food system resilience.
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