John Dumelo has suggested ways government can help local farmers grow tomatoes and onions on large scale to prevent the nation from travelling to Burkina Faso to get these products in their raw state.
The actor and farmer in a long post on Instagram lamented the culture where Ghana depends on Burkina Faso to feed its citizens.
He noted that Upper East and Upper West regions alone have the capacity to supply the entire nation with tomatoes and onions all year round if farmers are given assistance from the government.
In a video shared by John Dumelo, several trucks from Ghana were seen heading to Burkina Faso.
He explained that traders usually ply the route between January to May to purchase tomatoes and onions from the West African state because of its shortage.
“I took this video on the Bolgatanga- Navrongo highway. Every year, from December to about May, thousands of trucks move to Burkina Faso to buy tomatoes/onions for the Ghanaian market. Same tomatoes/onions that can be cultivated in large quantities in Ghana especially the Upper East and Upper West regions. The Burkina folks use irrigation during the dry season to grow tons of Tomatoes to feed the subregion. Why can’t we(Ghana) do same?” he quizzed.
He furthered that farmers can produce between 15 to 20 tons per hectare of tomatoes and onions through funding and the use of irrigation systems.
“We have the Tono dam in the Kassena Nankana district, we have the Nasia river, the White Volta etc all spread across the Northern parts of Ghana. We can use these water bodies to initiated massive irrigation systems to grow tomatoes esp the Pectomech variety, onions, etc to feed ourselves and also export. We should be targeting about 15-20 tons per hectare output from the farms. With these projections, the trucks will eventually stop crossing the border and now buy from our farmers. The money must stay home. It’s time to get things done!”
The award-winning actor for years has proven his love for agriculture through farming. He has large farms where he grows and sells, onion, ginger and vegetables.
