The Minister of Food and Agriculture, Eric Opoku, has assured Ghanaians that the country’s reliance on imported tomatoes will soon become a thing of the past, as government interventions to increase local production begin to yield results within the next four months.

Mr Opoku said the government had introduced a number of measures aimed at boosting domestic tomato production and reducing dependence on imports, particularly from neighbouring Burkina Faso.

“We have started working on that challenge, and we are bent on reversing that story. Within the next three or four months, the results will be out there for Ghanaians to testify,” he said.

The minister made the statement when he appeared before Parliament’s Select Committee on Assurances to provide updates on commitments made by President John Dramani Mahama in the 2025 State of the Nation Address.

According to him, the government is investing heavily in irrigation infrastructure to enable farmers to cultivate tomatoes throughout the year, especially in major production areas across the country.

He disclosed that the interventions include the drilling of boreholes, installation of solar-powered irrigation systems and fencing of farms in areas vulnerable to livestock destruction.

“President Mahama himself has taken special interest in this, and he says that we should bring an end to the importation of tomatoes into this country, and we’ll do just that,” Mr Opoku stated.

The minister explained that the measures are part of broader efforts to improve food security, strengthen local agricultural production and create sustainable opportunities for farmers.

Addressing concerns raised by the Chairman of the Committee, Dominic Nitiwul, about falling food prices and their impact on farmers’ earnings, Mr Opoku acknowledged that while consumers were benefiting from reduced food prices, some farmers were struggling to recover production costs.

He described the situation as a “good-bad” scenario, explaining that increased food supply benefits consumers through lower prices but can negatively affect farmers when market prices fall.

“The bad-good is when there is a shortage of food in the system, like we witnessed in 2024 because of the dry spell. Then food prices started going up. A lot of people were pushed into abject poverty because of the rising food prices,” he said.

Mr Opoku, who identified himself as a farmer, admitted that some producers are currently facing difficulties due to declining prices but stressed that increased food availability remains beneficial to the country as a whole.

“I am a farmer. I am suffering. But the nation is the beneficiary,” he stated.

To address the challenges confronting farmers, the minister said the government has submitted proposals to President Mahama and Cabinet for measures to cushion producers against the impact of declining market prices.

He disclosed that one emergency intervention being considered is the provision of free fertiliser to sustain farmers’ interest in production while the government pursues long-term solutions through agro-processing and the establishment of reliable markets.

Mr Opoku warned that prolonged periods of low prices without adequate support could discourage people from farming, stressing the need to expand processing capacity and value addition to absorb excess produce and guarantee stable incomes for farmers.