The Volta Youth in Agriculture has called on the government to establish vegetable farms in every district across the country, framing the Burkina Faso tomato export ban as both a warning and an opportunity to restructure Ghana’s dependence on imported food.
Burkina Faso’s decision, announced in mid-March, was aimed at keeping more fresh produce within its borders to supply local tomato processing factories, with Ghana among the main importers of tomatoes from its northern neighbour, particularly during periods of low domestic output.
The directive took effect on March 16, 2026, according to a statement issued by Ghana’s Ministry of Trade, Agribusiness and Industry. The Minister for Food and Agriculture, Eric Opoku, has since disclosed that Ghana’s annual tomato requirement stands at around 805,000 metric tonnes, while domestic production covers only about 510,000 metric tonnes, leaving a substantial deficit.
Against that backdrop, the Volta Youth in Agriculture said the ban had exposed how broadly the country relied on vegetable imports, and warned that similar disruptions could affect other crops if structural reforms were not pursued urgently.
Speaking for the group, Public Relations Officer Madam Joy Fiamawle urged young people to move beyond awareness and into active production and advocacy. “As Volta Youth in Agriculture, we have declared our readiness to engage stakeholders more deeply, and we must encourage the public, especially the youth, to play a central role in building a sustainable future for vegetable production in the country,” she said.
The group called for the immediate rollout of district-level vegetable farms to decentralise production and make each area self-sufficient in fresh vegetables. It also urged the government to engage Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) directly to support youth-led farming initiatives at the local level.
Beyond land and production, the organisation pressed for targeted training programmes and workshops for young farmers, as well as formal partnerships with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) operating in agricultural development. It said employing young people on district farms would simultaneously address food access and unemployment, both of which it described as deeply connected to broader challenges of poverty and food insecurity.
The Bank of Ghana (BoG) Governor, Dr. Johnson Asiama, struck a similar tone last week, arguing that Ghana has the capacity to grow its own tomatoes and should act decisively to do so, pointing to over 500,000 young jobseekers and adequate seeds and inputs already available in the country.
The Volta Youth in Agriculture also called on the public to support government programmes designed to strengthen local food production and improve long-term food security.
