Losses within the tomato sector are each a nationwide disaster and an industrial alternative, as home demand is sort of double native manufacturing and virtually half of the harvest by no means reaches shoppers.
Ghana produces roughly 380,000 tonnes of tomatoes yearly. 800,000 or extra is required. And between 30 and 45 % of the crop goes dangerous earlier than it reaches shoppers.
These figures are taken from knowledge from FAO and the Ghana Agricultural Enterprise Chamber; pleasure enterprise grasp class in an intensive interview with Mrs. Adwoa AsieduCEO of sorry. The dialog additionally served because the opening salvo for a month-long Agribusiness Dialog in partnership with Pleasure FM. Phage.
“That is precisely why we’re right here: to course of the spoiling tomatoes into paste,” Maame mentioned. “We do not have a correct chilly chain. We have to add worth on the supply.”
Waste and import disaster
The numbers are powerful. Ghana imports tomatoes to make up for the deficit, together with giant portions of tomatoes from Burkina Faso, though home produce rots in transit and in the marketplace and processing infrastructure is missing. Chilly chain penetration in Ghana’s tomato sector stays extraordinarily low, with industrial tomato processing capability effectively beneath the capability wanted to soak up seasonal surpluses.
Ntoswura’s mannequin speaks on to this hole. By partnering immediately with native farms, choosing tomato varieties appropriate for paste (not salad tomatoes, as Maame precisely distinguishes them, however denser, heavier varieties), and processing domestically, the corporate is constructing a branded shopper product that competes with import substitutes whereas decreasing post-harvest losses.
the place the probabilities are best
The primary producing areas with the best potential embody the Northern, Higher East, Ashanti, Bono, Japanese, Volta, and Better Accra areas. Ntosuura at present sources from the Bono and Volta areas and has plans to broaden its farm community.
For Maam, this enterprise case is each financial and patriotic.
“We’re the primary Ghanaian pure tomato product on this class,” she mentioned. “All of the pure alternate options that customers learn about are overseas manufacturers. We are attempting to vary that.”
Problem to cost
The problem, she admits, is value consciousness. Producing with out preservatives, utilizing regionally sourced uncooked supplies and a functioning chilly chain for distribution is expensive. Shoppers accustomed to low cost imported merchandise could also be hesitant. Her reply is consistency, high quality and persistence.
Business sources say imported tomato paste advantages from agricultural subsidies within the export market, making it tough for native processors to compete on value. Ntosuura is betting that Ghanaians can pay extra for regionally made alternate options that don’t include preservatives.
Pleasure Agribusiness Month continues
of Pleasure Agribusiness Monthwill run till June 2026, with the primary week specializing in authorities coverage and financing, the second week on analysis and mechanization, the third week on infrastructure and youth participation, and the fourth week on horticulture worth chains and meals sovereignty.
Maame mentioned merely:
“Ghana spends greater than $8 billion a 12 months importing meals it may well produce domestically. We will not proceed to try this.”
Ntoswura merchandise can be found at choose shops in Accra and Kumasi. Observe Pleasure Enterprise on social media for extra Agribusiness Month protection.
The total Pleasure Enterprise Masterclass interview is beneath:
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