A tomato production partnership between the West Africa Food System Resilience Project (FSRP) and agribusiness firm FarmMate Ltd has recorded a successful first-round harvest of about 240 tonnes of tomatoes in the Upper East Region, marking a major step toward stabilising tomato supply and prices during Ghana’s dry season.

The harvest is part of a broader intervention by FSRP, a programme under the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), aimed at addressing chronic tomato shortages and sharp price fluctuations, particularly between December and May.

The initiative is supported by the Government of Norway and coordinated by the World Bank, with a focus on reviving Ghana’s tomato value chain through dry-season cultivation, improved productivity and stronger market linkages.

Under the partnership, tomatoes are grown using climate-smart agricultural practices, a core feature of the FSRP approach. Farmers receive improved seed varieties, blended fertilisers enriched with micronutrients, organic manure, pesticides—both organic and inorganic—and continuous extension advisory services.

FarmMate complements this support with intensive field monitoring, resident agronomists and guaranteed offtake of harvested produce.

Tomatoes harvested in the Upper East Region are transported within 24 to 36 hours to key markets in the Greater Accra Region, including Agbogbloshie and the Central Business Market (CMB), as well as premium outlets such as Palace Mall and Shoprite.

The FSRP–FarmMate collaboration currently spans 200 acres nationwide, with 110 acres in the Upper East Region, engaging about 100 farmers in Zebila (Bawku West District), Pwalugu (Talensi District), the Tono Irrigation Scheme, and Navrongo (Kasena Nankana District). Additional beneficiary areas include Ningo-Prampram, Okere, Kwahu East, the Akumadan Irrigation Scheme and Asunafo South District.

Beyond FarmMate, the wider FSRP Tomato Support Programme is being rolled out in 20 districts across six regions, involving 1,500 farmers, 40 per cent of whom are women.

Current yields average 10 tonnes per hectare, with projections of up to 15 tonnes per hectare by the end of the 2025 dry season. Overall, FSRP aims to produce 6,000 metric tonnes of tomatoes by the close of the intervention.

The District Director of Agriculture for Bawku West, Diana Akumanue, praised the transparent marketing system under the project, noting that tomatoes are weighed and farmers paid based on actual output.

“We are happy because farmers are now paid according to weight, unlike the old system where prices were dictated by market queens,” she said.

Farmers report improved incomes and reduced post-harvest losses. Beneficiary farmer Asigma Awafo said the adoption of better agronomic practices—such as seedling nurseries, line transplanting and multiple fertiliser applications—has significantly increased yields.

“For the first time, our tomatoes are weighed and we are paid fairly. This has improved our income compared to previous seasons,” she said.

According to Dr Gabriel Owusu, Project Officer coordinating the Tomato Initiative at FSRP, the programme forms part of a regional effort across West Africa to reduce tomato imports.

“Tomato is the most consumed vegetable, yet much of what we eat is imported,” he noted.

The Upper East Regional Crops Officer, Yakubu Mohammed Awal Mei-goro, said the current harvest demonstrates how structured support and assured markets can transform tomato production in the region.

A FarmMate official disclosed that the company has deployed a resident agronomist and support staff to provide daily technical assistance to farmers, helping them respond quickly to emerging challenges.

Despite early yields of about four tonnes per acre or more, the project continues to face constraints, including free-grazing animals, inadequate fencing, limited water availability and increased pest pressure during the dry season.

Nevertheless, FarmMate and its partners remain optimistic, with plans underway to expand operations, improve infrastructure and deepen collaboration with the World Bank, the Norwegian government and other stakeholders to sustain and scale up dry-season tomato production.

Tomatoes account for about 40 per cent of vegetable expenditure in Ghana, yet only 34 per cent of the estimated 1.4 million tonnes consumed annually are produced locally, resulting in heavy imports and volatile prices.

The FSRP, funded by the World Bank and coordinated by ECOWAS, is being implemented in eight West African countries. In Ghana, the project seeks to strengthen food system resilience and enhance preparedness against food insecurity through sustainable, climate-smart agricultural practices.