Tuba tomato farmers lose thousands of cedis in post harvest losses

Tomato farmers at Tuba, a community near Kokrobite in the Greater Accra Region, are counting their loss as their produce rot on the farms due to lack of market.

The few fortunate ones who are able to get buyers have to sell at ridiculously low prices.

A hundred kilogram tomato which sells between GH 500 and GH 600 during the lean season is currently sold at GH 60 or at most GH 80 on the farm.

The farmers numbering over 200 cultivate various kinds of vegetables on the 220 hectare Weija Irrigation Scheme land.

Speaking to Onua Business News on the farms, one of the farmers who also double as an extension officer, Paa-Grant Arthur said that farmers invest an average of GHC2000 to grow the tomatoes and can make five folds in profits within 3 months on a good crop season.

However, the glut of tomatoes on the various markets has dwindled the fortunes of farmers.

Large proportions of tomatoes were seen discarded on the farms and left to rot because farmers were unable to get market for their produce.

These farmers have no insurance cover therefore they will have to find means of paying back the loans they contracted from family and friends and their bankers.

Due to the risks involved in agriculture, it is virtually impossible for farmers to secure funding from banks.