Mr Dennis Abugri Amenga, the Bono Regional Director of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), has urged tomato growers to opt for and cultivate the “raja and cobra”, new varieties of tomatoes released by the Crop Research Institute (CRI).
Those new varieties, according to Mr Amenga, have high yields and excellent matter content, good for processing and high export demand.
In an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Sunyani, Mr. Amenga expressed worry that the Fetentaa WEEDI Tomato Factory established under the One-District-One-Factory programme was not doing well because of the lack of raw materials, saying growers and farmers who cultivated the “raja and cobra” varieties would access ready market for their produce.
He said the new tomato varieties could also compete in the market keenly with varieties from Burkina Faso and advised interested farmers to contact the districts and municipal offices of MoFA in the region.
Mr Amenga also advised vegetable farmers to adhere strictly to spraying schedules to protect their farms against insects and pest infestation.
He cautioned the farmers against misapplication of agro-chemicals on their vegetable farms, and advised them to seek assistance from agricultural extension officers whenever they intended to apply chemicals on their produce.
By Dennis Peprah