Norvanreports can confirm that government, working through the Ministries of Finance, Food and Agriculture and Interior have initiated measures to resolve issues currently facing tomato transporters and importers in the country.
Our sources in the Interior Ministry, indicate that the Ministry has tasked security agencies in the country particularly the police to engage the tomato transporters association on finding lasting solutions to armed robbery attacks on their members going for tomatoes from Burkina Faso.
Again the government through the Ministry for Food and Agriculture and the Ministry of Finance, is looking to boost production of tomatoes in the country through irrigation farming to cut down imports of tomatoes from Burkina Faso with the provision of free fertilizers, seedlings and a credit facility to farmers.
To this end, government will in the coming days engage with the various tomato farming groups in the country.
Backgorund
The tomato transporters association supported by tomato importers in the country, on Sunday, February 7, 2021, embarked on an indefinite strike action.
The strike action according to the association is due to the silence of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and other authorities on robbery attacks on their members on the various routes when going in for the tomato produce from Burkina Faso as well as when returning to their various depots.
According to the group, seven of its members have been robbed and shot in less than three weeks while returning from Burkina Faso, leading to the death of two of the drivers.
It is for this reason that they have decided to embark on the strike action, since efforts to alert the authorities have proved futile.
The indefinite strike action by the association if not halted could soon result in Ghana experiencing a shortage in tomatoes and a subsequent increment in the price of the commodity.
