Tomato traders and importers in Accra predict a shortage and sharp price hikes unless the government invests urgently in local irrigation infrastructure to ramp up domestic production.
They say such funding would cut Ghana’s heavy reliance on Burkina Faso imports a route now fraught with danger and channel money into local farming to safeguard livelihoods.
The alert follows recent terrorist attacks in Burkina Faso that killed eight Ghanaians and injured others, crippling cross-border tomato supplies and highlighting the perils of import dependence.
Traders threaten to halt trips entirely without better security. “If the government and security agencies do not provide us with adequate protection, we will not bother travelling to Burkina Faso anymore. Our drivers have families, and they cannot risk their lives just to transport tomatoes,” one trader said.
She noted that escorts reach only as far as Paga, leaving the rest of the journey perilous. “Our Chairman usually arranges security escort up to Paga, but beyond that point, we do not know what may happen. Because of these risks, we are even beginning to reconsider importing tomatoes altogether.”
The traders demand dams and irrigation to enable local growing. “We thought we were not targets of the terrorists. We want the government to construct dams for us that will prevent us from going to Burkina Faso,” she urged. They also complain that imported tomatoes often arrive rotten, propping up Burkina Faso’s economy at Ghana’s expense.
Otumfuo Charity, Queenmother of the CMB Underbridge branch in Accra and an executive with the Ghana National Tomato Traders Association, flags risks from Togolese smugglers exploiting the chaos. “Some of these traders use routes through northern Togo under the pretext of selling to their counterparts, but they end up selling the tomatoes directly to Ghanaian traders.”
The association vows to crack down. “We want to make it clear that we will not accept this, and we will issue a warning against such practices.”
Drivers and transporters report stalled operations. Kwame Siaw, a driver at CMB Underbridge, fears a shift to unstable jobs. “Now, we may be compelled to find other alternative sources of livelihood… but that kind of work is not sustainable.”
Veteran driver Peter Boahen, in the trade since 2006, predicts broad fallout. “With fewer tomatoes on the market, prices will become more expensive. Since the main trucks that transport tomatoes from Burkina Faso are no longer coming, we will be left sitting here idle. How then will we take care of our families?”
Story by: Mercy Addai Turkson# ahotorfmonline.com