Ghana’s horticultural sector is facing a severe structural crisis, with annual tomato imports exceeding US$230 million, while a devastating bacterial wilt outbreak has left the country 99 per cent dependent on imported ginger.
Speaking at the second session of the 2026 Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MEST) Visibility Webinar Series, researchers from the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) urged immediate research-led policy interventions to rebuild domestic seed systems, expand irrigation, and protect value chains.
Presenting technical data on the tomato industry, Dr Michael Kwabena Osei, Principal Research Scientist and vegetable breeder at the CSIR Crop Research Institute (CSIR-CRI), disclosed that national demand for fresh and processed tomatoes exceeds 1.4 million metric tonnes annually, yet domestic production meets only 15 to 18 per cent of market needs.
Ghana generates roughly 120,000 to 180,000 metric tonnes annually from 25,000 to 30,000 hectares, leaving an annual deficit of 1.1 million metric tonnes. Highlighting the vulnerability of relying on foreign seeds, Dr Osei warned: “A country that imports its seed will always import its food.”
He explained that fresh imports cost $18 million annually, while processed paste imports, equivalent to 450,000 tonnes of raw tomatoes, cost over $150 million, yet total imports still cover only 40 per cent of the total national supply gap.
The crisis is equally severe in the ginger sector, where national demand rose to 32,000 tonnes, but local output collapsed following a 2022 bacterial wilt (Ralstonia solanacearum) epidemic.
The “ginger killer” disease slashed national production from 102 tonnes to roughly 10 tonnes, forcing Ghana to spend $500,000 annually on imports and driving market prices from GH¢250 per sack in 2022 to over GH¢6,000.
To mitigate both crises, CSIR researchers proposed tissue-culture seed multiplication, climate-smart breeding, solar-powered irrigation, and the establishment of a dedicated Tomato Board by 2028 and a Horticultural Research Institute by 2030.
Summarising the proposed framework, Dr Osei stated the strategy rests on “policy to protect, research to solve, and market to make profit.”
Source: DAN
