Tomato farmers in the Anloga District of the Volta Region are sounding the alarm over severe market and storage challenges that they say are crippling incomes, fueling debt, and threatening the very survival of tomato cultivation in the area.
Mr. Semabia Agbenyefia, a farmer at Anloga-Avume, said that post-harvest losses remain their single greatest obstacle, with freshly harvested tomatoes rotting within days due to the absence of storage facilities and reliable buyers.
“Our biggest issue here is that some buyers have drastically reduced the market price. A box of tomatoes, which should sell for about GH₵1,050, now goes as low as GH₵70 or GH₵80. At those rates, profitability is impossible,” he lamented.
The steep price drops, compounded by heavy waste, are draining farmers’ earnings. Many say they are unable to recover investments of between GH₵2,000 and GH₵5,000 per planting season, funds often borrowed to cover seeds, fertilizer, and labour.
Ms. Cecilia Seshie, another tomato farmer, said the losses are forcing many into debt while undermining food security. “We depend on this for our livelihoods. School fees, rent, and basic needs come from tomato farming. If things continue this way, people will abandon the farms, and that will mean hunger and unemployment,” she said.
Farmers believe the solution lies in building value-addition capacity. They are calling on government and investors to establish tomato processing factories in the district to absorb gluts, extend shelf life, and create youth employment.
“If we had a processing factory here, these tomatoes wouldn’t go to waste. We could preserve them as paste or juice, which would give us bargaining power and protect our incomes,” Mr. Agbenyefia stressed.
Beyond markets, climate change is compounding challenges. Farmers say erratic rainfall, extreme heat, and prolonged droughts are slashing yields and worsening financial losses. Without access to irrigation systems and climate-resilient seeds, they fear tomato production could collapse entirely.
Agricultural economists warn that Anloga’s plight reflects broader inefficiencies in Ghana’s food supply chain, where lack of storage, poor transport logistics, and inadequate agro-processing capacity account for up to 30–40% post-harvest losses annually.
Ghana also continues to import millions of dollars’ worth of tomato paste each year despite local farmers struggling with gluts.
The Anloga tomato farmers are appealing for urgent intervention from government, philanthropists, corporate organisations, and farmer associations to secure their livelihoods.
“This is not just about farmers,” Ms. Seshie noted. “It is about food security, jobs, and the future of agriculture in our community.”
