India to assist Ghana in tomato production

Tuesday, 22 September 2015 00:06 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The Hindu Business Line: Soon, expertise from India will help boost the ailing tomato-growing sector in Ghana. A combination of high-yielding varieties and latest farm techniques will be tested on the West African nation’s soil.

The Ghanaian government has allotted three plots of five acres each in three different regions to the National Research Development Corporation (NRDC), which is leading the Indian effort.

With the Centre launching a major Africa policy and set to host the Indo-Africa Summit in October in New Delhi, with 54 African nations expected to take part, this is one of the many projects on the anvil. The Ministry of External Affairs had firmed up the bilateral, $2-million project.

“A team from NRDC will be going to Ghana on September 29 to kick-start the project in collaboration with the CSIR-Ghana, which runs a string of national institutes on the lines of the Indian CSIR (Council for Scientific &Industrial Research),” said H Purushotham, Chairman & Managing Director of NRDC.

Ghana, traditionally a gold and cocoa economy with a population of 27 million with a good Indian presence, has a diversified economy with a growing agriculture sector and industry. It has, however, been struggling with its tomato farming over the past two decades.

The International Food Policy Research Institute in a study pointed out Ghana has not been able to sustain processing plants, and is also finding the going tough in terms of improving livelihoods of those households involved in tomato production. Despite government interventions that include establishment of tomato-processing factories, tomatoes of the right quality and quantity for commercial agro processing are not being grown. Many farmers still prefer to plant local varieties, typically with high water content. Low average yield, lack of access to markets and competition from imports make life difficult for the tomato farmers.

The NRDC will get seed companies, equipment manufacturers and agri-scientists from India to implement the effort over the next three years. The Ghana government will provide local resources, farmers and capabilities, Purushotham told Business Line.