GB Foods Secures 6,000 Acres in Ghana for Tomato Farming

News in brief:

-GB Foods Africa has secured 6,000 acres in the Afram Plains for commercial tomato cultivation.

-The project aligns with Ghana’s food security and industrialisation agenda and aims to reduce import dependence.

A significant boost to Ghana’s agribusiness sector is underway as GB Foods Africa has secured 6,000 acres of land in the Afram Plains for large-scale tomato cultivation, marking one of the most ambitious private-sector agricultural investments in recent years.

The announcement was made during a recent high-level meeting at the Ministry of Trade in Accra, which involved the Minister for Trade, Agribusiness, and Industry, Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare, the Spanish Ambassador to Ghana, Angel Lossada Torres-Quevedo, and senior executives of the company.

Expanding Regional Footprint

Vicenç Bosch, Chief Executive Officer of GB Foods Africa, disclosed that the newly secured land is more than three times the size of the company’s existing tomato farm in Nigeria, currently one of the largest in the region.

The company has been piloting tomato farming and processing operations in Ghana over the past two years, with harvesting expected in the coming weeks. According to Bosch, early results have been encouraging.

Yield Improvement Strategy Takes Shape

Tomato yields in parts of Central Africa average between five and ten tonnes per acre, compared with approximately 180 tonnes in China and 140 tonnes in Spain.

GB Foods has improved yields to between 60 and 70 tonnes per acre in Nigeria through enhanced agronomic practices and value chain integration.

In Ghana, the first-year pilot recorded 20 tonnes per acre, with projections to double to 40 tonnes per acre in the second year as operational efficiencies improve.

Push for Local Production Over Imports

Bosch emphasised that the investment is designed to strengthen domestic production capacity rather than rely on imports.

“For us, this is about developing the industry where we operate. It is not about importing; it is about building local capacity,” he said.

He acknowledged competitive pressure from low-cost tomato imports. He called for supportive policy measures, including quota systems similar to those implemented in Senegal and Nigeria, to enable sustainable scaling over a five to seven-year period.

Government Aligns Project with Food Security Agenda

Responding, Ofosu-Adjare welcomed the initiative, describing it as consistent with the government’s broader industrialisation and food security agenda under President John Dramani Mahama.

She stressed that strengthening domestic raw material production is essential for economic resilience.

“If you have the industry here but your raw material is somewhere you do not control, when there is a problem there, you suffer. We are committed to ensuring that raw materials are produced in Ghana so that food security can be assured,” she said.

The Spanish Ambassador described GB Foods Africa as a reliable agribusiness partner with a track record of generating socio-economic benefits in host communities, noting that the project signals deepening Ghana–Spain cooperation in agriculture.

The 6,000-acre Afram Plains project is expected to strengthen Ghana’s position in tomato production and processing, reduce import dependence, create jobs and reinforce the agricultural value chain.