The World Bank has secured a $20 million grant from the Dutch government to help cushion the impact of a looming tomato shortage in Ghana.
This follows the recent export ban imposed by Burkina Faso, a key supplier to Ghana. The restriction has disrupted supply chains, raising concerns about potential shortages and rising prices in local markets.
Speaking at a World Bank-civil society organization (CSO) engagement on food security in Accra, an Agricultural Economist with the World Bank, Dr. Ashwini Sebastian noted that the institution will collaborate with the local tomato traders’ association to strengthen supply chains, improve storage facilities, and support domestic production.
“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. “We will reach out to the tomato association more because we have been having some debates about location and trying to cluster the intervention.”
Beyond the tomato crisis, Dr. Sebastian disclosed further World Bank-backed funding for Ghana’s agricultural sector to boost domestic production and to reduce dependence on imports.
