Public Agenda (Accra)
Frederick Asiamah
13 February 2009
A number of small scale tomato farmers committed suicide in 2007 as a result of their inability to pay off loans, according to findings of a study conducted to ascertain the implications of current trade reform programmes on small scale producers, especially women.
The deceased persons had resorted to suicide "during the 2007 season" as a last line of defence because they could no longer bear various degrees of harassment which creditors (mainly individuals) subjected them to, according to the research report titled "Free Trade, Small Scale Production and Poverty."
The farmers' inability to raise funds to repay loans resulted both from price volatility and competition, which were characteristic of the increasing market share of imported tomato paste.
The report did not state the number of deceased persons. Though it also failed to disclose their gender, it can be safely assumed that the deceased were women as the study focused on female farmers. Also, the information about these deaths was revealed to the researchers by female participants in the study.
The report states that the female farmers named competition from tomato farmers from Burkina Faso, lack of access to credit facilities and high cost of inputs as the top three challenges they face. Tomato price control by market queens, prevalence of disease attacks, leading to loss of yields and difficulty in accessing land for agricultural purposes follow in that order to complete their list of challenges.
"The female farmers admit lack of government support in the production of tomatoes," said the report, which was launched in Accra on Tuesday by the Social Enterprise Foundation of West Africa, Ghana Chapter (SEND-Ghana).
SEND-Ghana facilitated the study undertaken by a network of female researchers in 2008. The study focused on the production, processing and marketing of tomato, soya bean and fish for livelihoods in five communities in five regions based on a profile of the 42 operational districts of SEND-Ghana.
Matsekope in the Dangbe East District of Greater Accra Region and Gane in the Kasena Nankana District of the Upper East Region were selected for study in the tomato sub-sector. For Soya beans, the researchers selected Kalende in the East Gonja District of the Northern Region and Tangasia from the Upper West Region, while Elmina was selected for the study on fish.
The "Free Trade, Small Scale Production and Poverty" recalls that during the 2007 farming season, tomato imports from Burkina Faso led to the outbreak of conflict between farmers in the Upper East region on one hand, and Ghanaian traders and Burkinabe farmers on the other hand. "Consequently, the Ghanaian farmers erected barricades to obstruct the movement of trucks into Burkina Faso to load tomatoes Interestingly, competition is heightened between producers of the two countries during dry seasons when the demand for fresh tomatoes is high."
At both Matsekope and Gane, women farmers were found to constitute more than 50% of tomato farmers. Access to irrigation facilities put farmers at Gane in better stead during the dry season than their counterparts from Matsekope. However, both groups suffered from price volatility, especially due to glut and lack of storage facilities. Market queens dictated low prices to these farmers with excuses that consumers in Accra and other major cities no longer bought tomatoes in large quantities.
In terms of competing with imported tomato paste, the farmers said " The traders tell us their customers now mix fresh tomatoes with imported tomato paste."
Away from the report, it would be recalled that by 2006 Ghana was second only to Germany in the world, consuming an average of twenty-five thousand (25,000) tonnes of tomato paste in a year at a total cost of about 25 million dollars.
At the time the Ministry of Trade and Industry confirmed that for the year 2000, Ghana imported about 10 million kilograms of tomato paste at about $8.9 million. This rose to about 12 million kilograms at $9.6 million in 2001. The year 2002 saw the importation of 16.4 million kilograms at a total cost of $12.7 million.
The European Union is reported to have exported 27, 000 tonnes of preserved tomatoes to Ghana in 2003. Though years 2004, 05 and 06 figures were not available, the trend suggested that in each year, Ghana's import volume of tomato paste jumped by about 23%.
Again, at the time tomato imports had put about 1,250 Ghanaian tomato farmers at risk of being pushed out of employment. According to the national president of the Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana (PFAG), Mr. Mohammed Nasiru Adams, over 700 tomato farmers had already been rendered unemployed as a result of the imports.
And the farmers appear less hopeful under present circumstances. According to the "Free Trade, Small Scale Production and Poverty"report, "The situation has led the women to conclude that it is no more profitable to engage in tomatoes production."
The researchers conclude that "Although the women could not make a direct link between price, productivity and imported products, the fact that evidence exist in terms of increased importation of agricultural commodities implies that liberalisation is limiting women's limited access to domestic markets."
They continue, "Withdrawal of government's support to the agricultural sector in the wake of liberalization also means increased competition challenges to small scale women farmers. Lack of such support further heightens fears of subsequent loss of market and livelihoods as liberalisation is deepened within the context of the ECOWAS regional market."
They therefore recommend among others that flexible credit facilities should be extended to women groups engaged in the sectors studied; the capacities of the women should be built; and storage facilities should be provided at major production centres.
"There is the need to create opportunities that increase access to market it is recommended to district assemblies to serve as platforms that link women and small scale farmers in general to the Ghana School Feeding programme "
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