Sampson Ahi, Deputy Minister Designate for Trade, Agribusiness, and Industry, has announced plans to work through the government to revive the Pwalugu Tomato Factory as part of efforts to strengthen Ghana’s agribusiness sector.
Speaking during his vetting by Parliament’s Appointments Committee on Monday February 24, Ahi emphasised the importance of collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture to ensure the success of the initiative.
According to him, reviving the factory alone without the raw input, which is tomato, will not achieve the objective of industralisation.
He therefore highlighted the need to support local tomato farmers through educational farming programs to increase production.
“The agribusiness means that we have to work with the agric-ministry because they will produce and we will also come in to process. If we bring in the Pwalugu Tomato factory and we don’t have the tomatoes as raw material to feed the factory, we cannot achieve the objective.
“So, it will be in our interest that the agric minister is brought on board to introduce education farming to support the tomato farmers so that when they produce the tomatoes, the factory too can come in and process it so that the economy of that environment can be brought back for people to earn a living,” he stated.
