By King Amoah
A wave of relief and appreciation is sweeping through a sections of tomato sellers in Kumasi and beyond following the recent decision by the Burkina Faso’s military president Ibrahim Traoré, to lift the ban on tomato imports into Ghana.
This initiative has been met with a widespread praises from traders whose livelihoods are impacted by the cessation of tomatoes trade.
However while the majority of traders are celebrating the return of their primary source of income others have different opinions that suggest that the ban, if sustained could have served as a catalyst for Ghanaian leaders to prioritize its underdeveloped agricultural sector.
For many like Madam Margret Donkoh and Adwoa Foriwa who operate from the Bantama market jn Kumasi, they buy imported tomatoes from Burkina Faso and sell to their customers.
According to them tomatoes business have been the source of their livelihoods for years as the business enable them to cater for their children’s education.
When we heard about the ban on tomatoes we were almost driven to despair, they told the Correspondent in an interview.
Another tomatoes sellers at Kumasi Bantama Afua Mansah echoed the sentiment when she explained that the tomato business requires a minimal capital to make it an accessible venture for many to earn their living.
Mansah related that the ban left her with insufficient resources to continue the trade.
I was ready to pack off to my village because I don’t have enough capital to continue the trade.
But thank God when I heard that the Burkina Faso military president Ibrahim Troaare has lifted the ban.
The cheers of gratitude were not confined to Bantama market alone.
At the Kumasi Asafo market, tomato sellers joined in commending President Traoré.
Ekua Afriye who has been relying on imported tomatoes from Burkina Faso for the past five years to provide for her family expressed her happiness.
Afriyie insisted that she has sold. tomatoes for the past six years to earn her living .
Traces of this joy were also evident in Obuasi and Ejisu where traders described the lifting of the ban as a good news.
Deepite the praises from a section of traders a dissenting voices emerged from Offinso where Kofi Ababrese advocated for the ban to remain in force.
He believes that President Traoré’s action should serve as a lesson to Ghanaian leaders whom he accused them of neglecting the nation’s welfare.
We have a Ministry of Agriculture with officials holding PhD degrees being paid fat salaries and allowances, yet we import tomatoes from Burkina Faso.
What profit do we gain from these officials, Ababrese boldly questioned.
He declared that if he has the opportunity to communicate with the President of Burkina Faso he would urge him to continue the ban to expose the laziness and ignorance of Ghanaian leaders who never consider the welfare of their citizens.
Kwabena Minka of Effidduase who was concluding the interviews interpreted President Traoré’s decision as a wake up call for agriculture action in Ghana.
. He believes that the move serves as an advice to Ghanaian leaders to reconsider and revamp the country’s agricultural sector.
Minka expressed his support for any initiative that would keep the ban in place for an extended period to prompt our leaders to find a lasting solutions for the country’s agricultural challenges.
