GhArticles.com Every News in Detail
The government has intervened to purchase 1,000 boxes of tomatoes and 2,000 bags of onions cultivated by farmers in the Asante Akim North District of the Ashanti Region, under the Feed Ghana Programme.
The move comes after concerns that the bumper harvest recorded this season could go to waste due to a lack of buyers, which threatened to undermine farmers’ incomes.
According to the Member of Parliament for Asante Akim North, Frimpong Kwame Ohene Asante, smallholder farmers had significantly increased tomato and onion cultivation through the initiative but struggled to market their perishable produce.
Responding to the situation, Dr. Peter Boamah Otokunor, Director of Presidential Initiatives in Agriculture and Agribusiness, explained that President John Dramani Mahama directed senior high schools in the district to procure the produce for student meals. This, he said, would guarantee fair value for farmers while simultaneously supporting school feeding.
Dr. Otokunor confirmed that the consignment of tomatoes had already been fully purchased. He also used the occasion to announce the launch of a digital registration portal for the government’s Three Million Coconut Seedlings initiative.
He encouraged farmers to prepare land before applying for the coconut programme, stressing that the process was quick and digital, requiring only basic information such as name, contact, farm location, and acreage.
The dual interventions, which address both immediate market challenges and long-term crop diversification, highlight government’s commitment to strengthening agribusiness and improving farmer livelihoods.
