Mahama Announces 60-Hectare Irrigation Project to Drive Year-Round Tomato Production

President John Dramani Mahama has announced plans for a 60-hectare irrigation facility aimed at enabling year-round tomato production, as part of the government's broader effort to reduce Ghana's dependence on seasonal farming and stabilise agricultural supply chains.

The announcement came during his keynote address at the Kwahu Business Forum in Mpraeso, Eastern Region, on April 4. Mahama described agriculture and agribusiness as a top priority of his administration, and said the government would take a targeted investment approach to achieve results within a measurable timeframe.

"We are going to select specific areas where government is going to intentionally mobilise investment. We will intentionally invest with both local resources and external ones so that we will get measurable outcomes within the shortest possible time," he said.

Storage and Processing to Complement Irrigation

The irrigation project is to be complemented by storage and processing facilities designed to stabilise supply and prevent the seasonal gluts that regularly cause significant losses for farmers. Ghana's tomato sector has been particularly vulnerable to supply volatility, a problem compounded in late 2024 when a nationwide food glut left farmers selling produce at a loss. The irrigation project is intended to reduce the sector's exposure to rainfall cycles and give farmers a more reliable production base throughout the year.

The announcement extends a pattern of agricultural investments Mahama has made since taking office. In March 2026, during the sod-cutting ceremony for Ghana's first Farmer Services Centre at Takoratwene in the Kwahu Afram Plains South District, the President ordered the complete removal of fertiliser costs for all registered farmers in the 2026 season, replacing the longstanding subsidised input model with free provision as a direct response to last year's glut-related losses. "In the past year, due to a food glut, most farmers have been running at a loss... I have instructed the Ministry of Agriculture to distribute them free of charge," he stated at the time.

Farmer Services Centres and the Afram Plains

The 60-hectare irrigation project fits within a wider agricultural infrastructure push centred on the Kwahu Afram Plains, one of Ghana's key food-producing areas. The government has confirmed broader irrigation projects covering approximately 900 hectares in the plains to support year-round farming, independent of seasonal rainfall. The government also plans to roll out 50 Farmer Services Centres across Ghana's major agricultural zones, with the first phase covering 11 centres. These hubs are designed to offer farmers access to mechanised land preparation, certified seeds, equipment leasing, irrigation services, and post-harvest storage, consolidating support across the agricultural value chain into a single point of access.

Agriculture Minister Eric Opoku has described the Farmer Services Centres as "the engine room of Ghana's new agricultural economy, where mechanisation, irrigation, finance and aggregation converge into bankable production." The initiative is formally linked to the government's 24-Hour Economy Programme and the Feed Ghana agenda of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture.

Context: Ghana's Tomato Import Exposure

Ghana remains structurally exposed to tomato supply shocks from neighbouring countries, particularly Burkina Faso, which banned raw tomato exports in 2025 to protect its own domestic processing industry. The move exposed how heavily parts of Ghana's northern agricultural belt rely on cross-border tomato supply to supplement local output. The Mahama government's push to invest in domestic irrigation infrastructure and agro-processing capacity is in part a response to that vulnerability. A reliable domestic production base, anchored by year-round irrigation, would reduce the country's exposure to external supply disruptions and price volatility at the farm gate.