Following the imminent tomato shortage in the country, which has become a national concern, the World Bank has revealed that it has secured a $20 million grant to help cushion farmers.

Speaking at the World Bank Civil Society Organisation (CSO) engagement on food security, held at the World Bank premises on March 24, 2026, an agricultural economist with the World Bank, Dr Ashwini Sebastian, stated that the organisation, in collaboration with partners, secured the $20 million fund from the Dutch government.

She explained that the institution, together with the Dutch government, is currently designing an intervention aimed at strengthening supply chains, improving storage facilities, and supporting domestic production.

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“Our colleagues from the Dutch Embassy will come on board. We have been able to leverage that initial support to secure a $20 million grant for tomato interventions in Ghana from the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and we are now in the phase of designing that intervention.

“We will engage more with the tomato association, as we have been having discussions about location and how best to cluster the intervention,” she said.

Dr Ashwini Sebastian also disclosed that the Norwegian government has contributed an additional $3 million grant to help address the looming tomato challenges in the country.

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According to her, the $3 million has been used as seed funding to test tomato seed multiplication and other production interventions.

“The Norwegian government contributed about $3 million. All the interventions you are hearing about regarding tomatoes are being funded from that amount. It has been used to test seed multiplication and production interventions using improved, disease-resistant seed varieties, as well as dry-season tomato farming. We are actively working on that.

“We also have a $1 million small grant that is expected to be very impactful. However, it has not yet been signed, so we have not been able to implement it. That grant is intended to support pilot projects such as solar-powered boreholes and fencing for about twenty 20-hectare areas,” she added.

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