The Department of Research and Innovation at the University of Ghana, Legon, has partnered with tomato farmers in Tuobodom, the capital of the Techiman North District in the Bono East region to establish a tomato processing factory in Tuobodom.
The state-of-the-art tomato factory, when completed, will go a long way to address the issue of post-harvest losses in the tomato farming industry. The factory will also serve as a central hub for processing and packaging tomatoes, thereby reducing the amount of produce that goes to waste due to improper storage and handling.
The University of Ghana’s Department of Research and Innovation, in collaboration with the Tuobodom community, aims to create a sustainable and efficient tomato supply chain.
The project will also involve training local farmers on proper harvesting and storage techniques to further minimize waste and maximize the quality of their produce.
Dr. George Acheampong, Senior Lecturer, Marketing & Entrepreneurship and Project Director/ Coordinator University of Ghana Business School Innovation and Incubation (UGBS IIH) explained that, the people of Tuobodom are more than willing to partner with his outfit for the success of the project.
According to him, the factory is expected to be completed and fully operationalized at most in the next year.
“When coming out with a project, you have to look for someone or a group of people that are also interested in the project, so we selected some areas but we realized that the people of Tuobodom were very passionate about the project we are undertaken and so we decided to add Tuobbodom to the communities we will be conducting the project.
“We spoke with the traditional leaders, farmers and the indigents and we realized that they were all interested in the project. We are hoping that at maximum in the next one year, the factory will be completed and operationalized, we are expecting that products from the factory will be available at our market within a year.” He said
He continued, “What special about the tomato paste will be producing is that, it will be without preservatives, we are going to do it the natural way and it will even last long than those that have preservatives in them, we will also produce some that will be in a powdered form so all you will need is just to add water to it and most importantly, we also have experts who will be in charge of marketing not only the produce from the factory but also that of our farmers in Tuobodom”.
Leader of the Tuobodom tomato farmers association, who doubles as Tuobodom Domebrahemaa, Nana Kwa Asantewaa, has admitted that there has been such move since last year 2023 and very soon their product will be out in the market both local and international. TAPE
“The Department of Research and Innovation at the University of Ghana, came and trained us on how to process our tomatoes, the training took place almost a year ago but as usual, we thought it was one of the many trainings that we have been receiving without any support to actually establish a company to utilize the training.
“But authorities of the school have proven us wrong, as we speak, all the documentation concerning the establishment of the factory has been done, a lot of women partake in the training, and it was done for indigents of both Techiman North and South.
“We have been trained on how to produce standardized tomato paste that will be accepted in the international market and we are eager to start production.” She said
Source: Elvisanokyenews.com
