Ghana imports 84,000 tonnes of tomatoes every year – CRI

The Crops Research Institute (CRI) of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has expressed concern about the rising importation of vegetable seeds, warning that, it could hurt the growth of the nation’s agriculture.

Ghana is estimated to import about 84,000 metric tonnes of tomatoes annually.

Dr. Mrs. Stella Ama Ennin, the Director of the CRI, said the situation, where “almost every vegetable seed being used currently in Ghana is imported is not healthy”.

She indicated that the larger proportion of those seeds was unable to withstand the local climatic conditions and therefore could not thrive.

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Fumesua in the Ejisu-Juaben Municipality, she said the way forward was massive investment in research technology to facilitate the breeding of the seeds, locally.

“When this is done, the private sector could come on board to adopt the seed varieties and well-package them for commercialization purposes.”

Dr. Mrs. Ennin was emphatic that planting locally bred vegetable seeds was more advantageous because of their suitability for local weather conditions.

The other high point was that, these were disease resistant unlike the imported seeds.

She made reference to the “tomato yellow leaf curl virus”, which had over the years devastated large hectares of tomato farms, affecting family incomes and the livelihoods of the farmers, and said, it reinforced the need to move away from the use of seeds bred in other countries.

Ghana is estimated to import about 84,000 metric tonnes of tomatoes annually and the reliance on high-yielding local seeds could reverse that.

The CRI Director said it was time priority attention was focused on vegetables production, adding that, the benefits to the economy could be enormous.

She called for the government to take steps to encourage the development of quality tomato varieties suitable for both the local and export market.

Source: GNA