Former Member of Parliament for Ejura Sekyedumase and CEO of P Farms Mr Issifu Pangabu, says it is about time that Ghana took deliberate steps to end the importation of tomatoes and onions into the country.
He observes Ghana has very fertile soil for agricultural production, yet the nation hasn’t been able to tap into this gift to produce adequate food for the populace.
He says lack of commitment, coupled with a lack of a clear-cut policy to drive the production of foods the country consumes heavily like tomatoes and onions, is making Ghana less food secure.
Speaking on My Signature Show on Oyerepa TV, the former MP called on the government to pay particular attention to these two important products. Ghana largely depends on Niger and Burkina Faso for its onion and tomato consumption, something Mr Pangabu says he is unhappy with.
The country reportedly spends $120 million importing onions annually, whilst the annual tomato import bill stands at about $100 million. Ghana consumes more than 100,000 metric tonnes of tomato and tomato paste annually.
The country imports these products from Burkina Faso, Netherlands, Italy, Morocco, USA, among others.
He argues that Ghana has good scientists who could develop great climate-smart smart onions and tomato oes on a commercial scale but he is yet to see that materialize.
“How on earth would we sit down as a nation and be importing these two commodities from desert prone countries despite our rich soil deposit?” he quizzed.
“There is something wrong with us and the government ought to show a serious commitment by providing technical support for good agronomic practices for Ghanaian farmers and encourage investors to invest in them,” he told the show.
“It would be appropriate for the government to also set up irrigation facilities to solely promote large-scale plantation (of these crops). If this is done, it would limit the number of people engaged in rural-urban migration,” the Former Mp concluded.
