Bolgatanga (U/E) Feb. 27 GNA- The Northern Star Tomato

Factory (NSTF) has started buying tomatoes from local

farmers in the Upper East Region. Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, to

find out how MOTI was facilitating the tomato industry in the

Upper East Region, Mr Joshua Azure, Regional officer of the

Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOTI) said the days when

tomato farmers committed suicide over lack of market for their

produce was now a thing of the past. He said MOTI had not only assisted the Northern Star

Tomato Company (NSTC) with funds to do the purchases

from the farmers but had equipped the factory with necessary

materials and paying the skeletal staff until it hands over to a

private investor who would run the business of the company. He said the problems the farmers faced were perennial and

dealing with perishable produce. He said it was difficult to avoid situations where the

tomatoes of farmers would not ripe at the same time. He said funds released for the company to do the

purchases did not arrive in good time, but assured the farmers

that things would return to normal now that the purchases had

started. He added that three vehicles had been arranged, to carry the

produce to the factory. Mr Kwabena Darkwa, farm manager of NSTC said the

factory as at Friday had received 2000 forty kilo crates which it

was buying from the farmers at GHc7.00 each. He said though the factory had started work the vacuum

pumps needed for changing the juice into a concentrate was

faulty and electricians were working around the clock to put it

back to work. He said the machines were to run for eight hours each day

and expected to produce 500 tonnes of tomato concentrate.