Greenhouse Tomato Production Project in Ghana

The Indian mission has said, To boost the agricultural sector and to increase yields India is funding a $ 2 million project for the greenhouse production of tomatoes in Ghana.

The High Commission said, "The concept was developed keeping in mind the enormous dependence on tomato and tomato derivatives in Ghana and with the objective of increasing local production of tomato to boost the agricultural sector." He further said, "Once the research establishes the high yield varieties suitable according to the agronomy of the region, farmers in Ghana would once again be able to espouse tomato cultivation on a large scale to make it commercially viable and remove the dependence on imported tomatoes for processing and consumption."

India's National Research Development Corporation (NRDC) is jointly implementing the project with the Soil Research Institute of Ghana's Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).

"NRDC has set up research projects in three location at Kumasi, the Ashanti regional capital, Ada in the Greater Accra Region and at Navrongo in the Upper East Region," its corporate communications chief, A. Pradhan told IANS in an email interaction.

Research by local consulting firm, Goodman AMC says Ghana currently produces over 300,000 metric tonnes of tomatoes, 90 per cent of which is consumed locally and accounts for 38 per cent of a family's expenditure on vegetables.

The NRDC is has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the CSIR to set up an Incubation Centre to facilitate the creation of start-ups to enable the transfer of technology.

Source: http://www.daijiworld.com/news/