Agric Ministry cuation tomato farmers against over-produced

Accra (Greater Accra) 15 July ?99

The Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) on Wednesday confirmed that there is a glut in tomato production in the Upper East Region.

The price of a crate of tomatoes has fallen from 60,000 to 10,000 cedis.

"We have been advising the farmers at Bolgatanga and Tono to plan their production so that there will be no over-production but they are not adhering to our advice", Mr. P.A Bruce, head of the marketing division of the MOFA, said in an interview in Accra.

"Because of this, over-production happens every year and there is nothing the ministry can do."

Mr. Bruce said other tomato production towns in the country do not face the same problem because they plan their activities in such a way that over-production does not occur during harvests.

He said in the case of Bolgatanga, the farmers invest a lot of money since they depend on the Tono Irrigation Dam where water is sold for their production.

He said during the harvest season, the market women decide the price for the farmers since the farmers have no means of transporting their perishable commodity to the market centres.

Mr. Bruce reiterated the need for the farmers to listen to the advice given to them by the officials of MOFA "and it will go a long way to help them".