The Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), in partnership with FarmMate Ltd, is targeting annual tomato production of 400,000 tonnes as Ghana moves to reduce its dependence on imported fresh tomatoes and tomato paste.
The target forms part of the Ghana Tomato Self-Sufficiency Initiative (GHATSI), a public-private partnership that seeks to establish an integrated, year-round domestic tomato production and supply chain.
The initiative will begin with a target of approximately 100,000 tonnes during the 2026/2027 production cycle, before production is progressively scaled up to the 400,000-tonne annual target.
The first phase will cover more than 10,000 acres across 40 districts, 12 regions and over 100 communities, creating a wider production base for subsequent expansion.
The Ministry said the programme is designed to address the seasonal production gap that contributes significantly to Ghana’s reliance on imported tomatoes. Ghana currently spends more than US$400 million annually on fresh tomatoes and tomato paste, with imports heavily driven by shortages during the December-to-July off-season.
“GHATSI directly reverses this dynamic by connecting farmers and land to production enhancement, structured finance, multi-peril crop insurance, aggregation, industrial processing, and guaranteed market access,” the Ministry said.
Under the Farmer Enhancement Package, participating farmers will receive financed agricultural inputs, irrigation support, extension services and technical assistance, alongside multi-peril crop insurance. Repayment for the financed inputs will be settled directly from proceeds when farmers sell their produce through the programme.
The production model is also expected to support contract farming and provide farmers with more predictable market access, while reducing losses after harvest through aggregation and industrial processing.
MoFA said the programme will also create employment opportunities for young people across tomato production, aggregation, processing and other parts of the value chain.
The first-phase target of 100,000 tonnes represents the initial production base for the programme’s longer-term goal of 400,000 tonnes annually. The expansion is intended to increase domestic supply throughout the year and reduce the volume of tomatoes and tomato products Ghana needs to source from abroad.
The initiative will officially be launched on September 15, 2026, at the Anlo Senior High School Park in Anloga in the Volta Region, with the Minister for Food and Agriculture, Eric Opoku, expected to lead the launch.
