DCE'S seek solutions to tomatoes glut in the UE/R

Navrongo, March 4, GNA- In a bid to check the glut of tomato and the
lack of market for the product some District Chief Executives DCE'S in
the Upper East Region have initiated strategies to combat the
situation.
Speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview at
Navrongo, Mr. Emmanuel Chegeweh DCE for Navrongo District, stated that
the District Assemblies in the Region were disturbed about the lack of
market for tomatoes in the Region.
He said this has resulted in the inability of many tomato farmers
who contracted loans from the banks from being able to pay back with
some of them even committing suicide.
Mr Chegeweh said the District Assembly in Kassena-Nankana has so
far disbursed a sum of 30 million cedis for the procurement of tomato
crates to transport the produce to the Pwaalugu tomato factory for
production.
The Bongo District Assembly and other District Assembly's were
among the group who benefited from the procurement of the tomato
crates.
" The main problem facing the tomato farmers in the Region is the
lack of tomato crates for packaging the product before its
transportation to the Pwalugu tomato factory, where the farmers are
paid instantly ", he added.
He said the assembly had also started renting out tractors at
subsidised rates to the farmers to cart their tomatoes to the tomato
factory.
Mr Chegeweh assured the tomato farmers that a team from the
Tomato Farmers Association would arrive in the Region soon to purchase
all tomatoes in the Region within a week.
4 March 07