Tomato farmers, AEAs trained on low-cost greenhouse tomato production technologies

The Crops Research Institute of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR-CRI), in partnership with KOPIA Ghana, has trained more than 100 tomato farmers and Agricultural Extension Agents (AEAs) on low-cost greenhouse tomato production technologies to enhance domestic yields and reduce reliance on imports.

Held across Akumadan and Dormaa East, the two-day capacity-building sessions brought together 50 participants at each location, including agricultural scientists, District Directors from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), extension officers and local smallholder farmers.

The project lead, Dr Michael Kwabena Osei, a Principal Research Scientist and Tomato Breeder at CSIR-CRI, explained that traditional open-field tomato farming leaves producers vulnerable to severe pest pressure, low yields and variable crop quality.

Conversely, commercial greenhouse systems have historically remained out of reach for smallholder farmers due to the high cost of imported hybrid seeds and complex infrastructure.

To address this challenge, CSIR-CRI has developed high-yielding inbred and open-pollinated varieties (OPVs) that match the performance of commercial hybrids at a fraction of the cost.

“With low-cost greenhouses built from locally sourced materials, alongside our affordable varieties, Ghanaian farmers can produce clean, high-quality tomatoes year-round and drastically reduce the country’s reliance on tomato imports,” Dr Osei stated.

The practical sessions took participants through the complete crop cycle, from nursery management to harvesting, with a focus on actionable and climate-smart agronomic practices.

Farmers were trained in protected nursery management, including the use of insect netting over seed trays to prevent the early-stage transmission of Tomato Yellow Leaf Curl Virus (TYLCV) by whiteflies.  Read More.

From Kingsley E. Hope, Kumasi

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