The Vice-President, Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, says the government will continue to provide the necessary infrastructure to support agribusiness, especially within the tomato value chain.
She said the initiative would generate sustainable employment and stimulate economic growth.
Prof. Opoku-Agyemang gave the assurance during a meeting with executives of GB Foods in Barcelona, Spain.
The discussions with executives of GB Foods in Barcelona centred on the company’s proposal to set up a tomato farm in Ghana to cut import dependence.
Meeting
Professor Opoku-Agyemang is in Barcelona to join global leaders today for the fourth High-Level Meeting of the “In Defence of Democracy Initiative”, where she will participate as a speaker.
The summit is being hosted by the Spanish government under Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez.
Assurance
The Vice-President described GB Foods’ proposed plan as a significant intervention, given the issues that have surrounded the production of tomatoes and their preservation.
She emphasised that it was in alignment with the government’s plans to improve local production, provide employment and through that help the country’s economic growth.
Professor Opoku-Agyemang gave the assurance that the government would prioritise key proposals from the meeting, including measures to provide essential infrastructure to facilitate the project.
She also called for a collaboration with local outgrowers to strengthen farmer participation and ensure a mutually beneficial partnership.
Appeal
The Director of Corporate Affairs Africa for GB Foods, Teddy Ngu, appealed for increased state support to develop irrigation systems to improve tomato cultivation in Ghana.
He disclosed that the company had secured approximately 6,000 hectares of land in the Afram Plains for the project, aimed at stabilising Ghana’s tomato production following recent export restrictions from Burkina Faso.
Background
Last February, the management of GB Foods Africa announced that it had secured the land for its proposed production.
The new acquisition in the Afram Plains in the Eastern Region is more than three times the size of GB Foods’ current flagship farm in Nigeria—previously one of the largest in the region.
This scale is intended to feed the company’s $5 million processing facility in Tema, which has been producing the household brands Gino and Pomo since 2023.
A critical component of this project is addressing the historic yield gap in West African horticulture.
While global leaders such as Spain and China achieve yields of 140 to 180 tonnes per acre, regional averages in Central and West Africa often languish between five and 10 tonnes.
Source:
www.graphic.com.gh
