India Partners Ghana to Boost Tomato Production

India and Ghana are team up for a Pilot Research Project on Tomato Production, which would ensure that there is an abundance production and supply of the crop in the country.

The project which seeks to pilot tomato production technologies in three ecological zones Ada, Kumasi and Navrongo is also aimed at producing more pest resistant, high yielding tomato.

Implementation of the Tomato Partnership agreement was signed between the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Ghana and the National Research Development Co-operation (NRDC) of India.

Officials of the Crop Research Institute of CSIR, Ghana and the NRDC of the Indian, main implementers of the pilot project, expressed satisfaction on the outcome of the project, saying, when it is fully implemented in all tomato growing areas of the country, it would cut down on imports of tomato from neighbouring countries.

Mrs Stella Ama Ennin, Director of Crop Research Institute–CSIR, said the closing ceremony marks the beginning of taking the findings through a varietal release process by the National Varietal Release Committee to enable a full role up of the programme in the tomato growing community.

She said as part of the pilot project, farmers and extension officers were trained on best farming practices, and other irrigation programmes. She said by the end of 2018, all tomato farmers in the communities would have access to the tomato seed for production.

Source: https://www.businessghana.com/