The World Bank has secured a $20 million grant from the Government of the Netherlands to support Ghana in mitigating the impact of a looming tomato supply shock, following Burkina Faso’s recent export ban on the commodity.
Burkina Faso, a major source of tomato imports for Ghana, has halted exports, disrupting established supply chains and triggering concerns over potential shortages and price volatility across local markets.
The development has heightened fears among traders and consumers, particularly given Ghana’s structural reliance on imports to meet domestic tomato demand.
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Speaking at a World Bank–Civil Society Organisation (CSO) engagement on food security in Accra, Agricultural Economist at the World Bank, Dr Ashwini Sebastian, disclosed that the grant will be deployed to strengthen Ghana’s tomato value chain.
According to her, the intervention will focus on improving supply chain efficiency, enhancing storage infrastructure, and boosting domestic production capacity.
“Our colleagues from the Dutch embassy will come in. We have been able to leverage that small grant to get a $20 million grant for tomato interventions in Ghana from the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and so we are in the phase of designing that intervention,” she stated.
Dr Sebastian further noted that the World Bank will work closely with local tomato traders to ensure effective implementation of the programme, particularly in determining optimal locations for intervention.
“We will reach out to the tomato association more because we have been having some debates about location and trying to cluster the intervention,” she added.
The planned intervention is expected to provide short- to medium-term relief to market participants while supporting longer-term efforts to reduce Ghana’s dependence on imported tomatoes.
Norvan Reports