Tomatoes and greed – the exodus of Ghana's farmers | DW Documentary

Tomatoes could be Ghana's red gold. The soil is ideal and they have been cultivated in the country for decades. However, Ghana's tomato factories are now empty and

farmers

are choosing to leave the country. The reason is that

tomatoes

have become playing chips in global trade policy. Like other products, Africa is a lucrative market. Shipments of canned

tomatoes

, powdered milk and frozen chicken from industrialized countries promise huge profits. Global trade policies are destroying domestic markets and forcing people to leave their countries. Edward for one no longer harvests tomatoes in Ghana but in Italy. Under dire conditions, Ghana developed its tomato industry after gaining independence in 1957.

The country was interested in developing its economy and utilizing its own natural resources. Today, all tomato processing plants in Ghana have closed, including this one in Poilugu. There are many reasons why Unstable power grid Unsuitable tomato varieties and global trade policy Italy China and other countries are dumping canned and processed tomatoes in Ghana still look fresh. That's why when I come, I'm in safety, I sleep when I'm not tight, I go to fresh water and come, no one asked me, I felt it was a little good for me and everyone, so I have to do it everywhere in the party to show that the party is still alive, it's not at all if you see the way the tomatoes were. wrapped up lying there there is no market and this factory didn't work either so i was just crying vincentattatinga now he grows onions instead of tomatoes he also used to work in the factory he and other former workers still come here they can't bear the thought of giving this factory ever It provided sustenance to an entire region.

He knew the secret of the factory. I know the importance of the factory because if this factory is working, many people are getting jobs, so since it has clues, it is very sad and everything is wrong. working there is no fear that these machines will not work I am here all the time it gives us a headache that you have something that could have touched lives it is sitting with you and it does not work it is very frustrating if this factory is viable again it will be the light of November, we are still hanging, take care of the police, but we believe that one day, hello, I want to speak to the minister of treatment, yes, please say that this call comes from the northeast at one o'clock. your balugu factory, if you could make something like the Italian tomatoes and Chinese tomatoes that you import into the country because we have good quality tomatoes in Ghana, if you can support us a lot, we can also do a lot to make the fact stand, yes sir, you are good.

I hear you, thank you sir, even if the Trade Minister was on the line, he couldn't just stop imports of tomatoes. Trade policies are a global competition and the most powerful actors have the best chance of accessing the most lucrative products. the markets are the people in the countryside who lose out benedicta afrifa is a tomato producer in turbodom in the middle of one of the main tomato producing regions of

ghana

the numerous day laborers seeking to be hired during the harvest season attest to the unemployment widespread even at the busiest times of the year some will not find work almost half of Ghana's population makes a living from agriculture a strong tomato growing industry would drive growth in rural areas nowhere else is this industry more likely flourish than here in the fertile middle belt of the country, but now that the factories are no longer operating buying locally grown products

farmers

are increasingly worried Benedict grows tomatoes on a hectare of land a tank of water costs 120 cds 20 we have to buy water every day for about a month and a half until the rain comes we have many problems which makes it difficult to survive in this country crops grow in abundance here farmers could cultivate even more land and employ more workers but they lack funds if they want to buy seeds and fertilizers and pay for irrigation water they need to take out loans, we don't.

I don't have money for fertilizers. Everything is expensive. We cannot sell our harvest and end up in debt. I have a wife and children to take care of. That's why I'll have to go to the desert and try my luck somewhere else. The people who arrive in Europe. I have a better life than ours if the opportunity presents itself today or tomorrow I will go to the desert. My farm is failing and the bank wants its money back now that the factories are closed. Farmers like Benedicta have to sell their products to the market queens. Those who sell it in the cities have a surplus of products during the harvest season, so farmers have to sell at very low prices.

I asked for 320 cds, they offered 270 and said others are giving even less at this price. I won't win anything. for 500. Two weeks ago we sold these boxes for 550 cds and the large ones were 700. Now the boxes can cost as little as 60 or even 50 cds, only if the market is bad like today, we farmers have to give away our products. We sell them at the price they give us. Tomatoes are a staple food in Ghana. They represent 40 percent of spending on vegetables. Middle class Canadians like their tomatoes. Canned Ghana could meet at least part of its demand, but canned tomatoes here in the market are not domestic.

Some are from China. Some are from Italy. Some are from Spain. Some are from the state. We would be very happy if we had a company here in Ghana that produced our own tomatoes. We can make them instead of people importing them. bring him here and spend a lot of money there when they give that money to the country it helps the country to develop benedict's husband has gone to italy in the hope of earning money to help support the family to pay for school fees children and also so that they can invest in a house and a well to water their crops.

My husband can earn more there than in Ghana. He sends money every month for me and our two children. The men and the coach see that everyone has their money. Thousands here in town. It's obvious which one. the families have relatives in europe they are the ones who have houses made of concrete despite the problems that plague the industry many here continue to grow tomatoes benedict's house is still under construction for now she is still paying the rent and i usually do I would be more because I knew the easy way some prefer canned tomatoes because they are more convenient, you just add water and they are ready, but I prefer the fresh ones, the fresh ones are more important now, they said we should dye them and they are all ready to go out to the desert my husband is in Europe and he is earning money and I work here this is how we manage and the children can go to school we also use his money to pay the rent and part of it to complete our house if he were here it would be very difficult for I'm always happy to see people leave and try their luck elsewhere. um, he's in Italy, he worked on an apple farm, then a tomato farm, and now he's hurting animals.

Most Ghanaian immigrants live in other West African countries. Many also live. In the United States, Canada and Europe, for Ghanaian farmers there is no legal route to Europe, most pass through the Sahara Desert and then cross the Mediterranean according to the International Organization for Migration or IOM, sixteen thousand Ghanaians took this road to Italy in the last five years. many african immigrants end up in southern italy tomatoes grown here are processed and sold in cans, even at low prices in

ghana

with heavily subsidized production italian tomatoes have a competitive advantage over local products in africa seasonal workers from africa in In reality, they contribute to the problem by working for very low wages, which further reduces production costs.

Few of them have residence permits. Day laborers are exploited by mafia organizations recruited by agents known as caporali. These intermediaries pay them by the box after deduct a commission abroad, have you ever seen an Italian doing this? type of work there is no farm for this Italian there is no farm all Italy everything from it to that no farm Italian the man is Italian they work on the machine I make torturers for Ghana and here I continue making tomatoes we do not work like Italy Ghana you choose one one in which you travel and live every day my father is a farmer also a farmer they used to grow tomatoes the company collapsed everything was full of bottles you see our building we do it ourselves Edward and the other seasonal workers live in slums dilapidated shacks or grocery stores campaign in the middle of the countryside there is no water or sanitary facilities electricity or heating they do not know where I live now they know that I am in Italy they do not know where I live and I will never tell them because if I entered them they were worried no matter how you are here you have to fight to get away to your family your mother your father or even sometimes your cousins ​​they all have problems they call you and you can' I'm not saying you can't help them so you are here fighting like us who are in trouble now our life is like now we will save our life to help to our family when it's too hot Edward and Rasta sleep outside instead of in the makeshift plastic tents Edward has been in Italy for four years and lives in the constant hope of earning enough to be able to return home, but once He sent a little money to his family in Ghana, barely enough to survive.

The foreign discard cooperative grows organic products. Tomatoes also hires seasonal workers from Africa but they earn a decent salary and receive adequate contracts. They are not day laborers at the mercy of the exploitative system. Caporalato Diane Scheik is from Senegal and has worked on many plantations. It was only when I started here that I realized what is happening in the other plantations i used to think it was just the way things worked in italy now i'm here i understand what's happening we're being exploited want to raise awareness about the plight of seasonal workers we have to tell consumers so they could buy one can of tomato puree for 40 cents alex abdul giuseppe and antonio were exploited they were forced to live in terrible conditions without basic rights without running water or electricity so they still process tomato products they sell for almost nothing even though the harvesting, Processing, packaging and transportation should be counted as profit, it's the only thing that matters.

That's why a kilo of tomatoes is often worth as little as five cents to a farmer. They pay me only five cents per kilo. I am going to make a living it is impossible I need to buy the seedlings water them I need fertilizer I need to rent a tractor these are fixed costs the only flexible costs are the salaries I pay my workers we must not forget that the caprerolata system is a consequence it is a consequence of a market which has gotten completely out of control pietro wants to beat the system his tomatoes are sold through a fair trade organization for 30 instead of five cents per kilo, plus they are processed in factories with fair conditions so consumers pay more for the product end but they know they are making an ethical decision the speculative economy has resulted in food becoming a commodity that is dumped into the markets so that someone else can make money speculating on food the tomato industry is not the only one in people are exploited, the same goes for watermelons and many other agricultural products, often high-quality products.

Opposing the global system is not easy; It involves restructuring the entire chain from farm to consumer. It aims to demonstrate that processed tomato products can be made ethically. he wants his cooperative to serve as an example a small step to change the entire production system tomatoes we have to decide if it is worth paying for tomatoes if we are not trapped in slavery many people say that we should help improve the situation in Ghana to These people don't come here in the first place, but the global economy and politics make it impossible, there is no tomato processing industry in Ghana, which shows how sick the system is, how completely crazy the subsidies to industrial agriculture and wage dumping.

With surpluses at reduced prices, European tomatoes end up being exported to international markets today Italy is only a minor player in the global tomato industry China is now the world's largest producer Exports tomato paste often diluted with cheap filler ingredients to the whole world 60 million tons per year 10 times more than Italy the most important metric in global exports is profitability any negative impact on the countries that import the goods is irrelevant trade policy is not a development policy and Africa is a lucrative destination for exporting nations Africa is a market like any other China as an important and responsible countryHe has always been a strong defender of free trade.

We look forward to expanding economic and trade cooperation with African countries, including Ghana. We will continue to encourage the trade association and Chinese companies to come to Africa to introduce high-end Chinese brands and quality products to the African market and consumer. Free trade is the principle that opens the African market to exports after independence, African countries introduced customs duties to protect domestic farmers and emerging industries, but now these restrictions are being lifted even though most African nations still struggle to compete in the international market Ghana came under international pressure when tried to increase import tariffs on tomato products to 40 percent, now they are at 10 and containers full of tomatoes at reduced prices continue to arrive in the country.

Economist Corbin Or is also familiar with the problem and as an academic can speak more freely than the Ghanaian government which has to take into account international investors only 30 tomatoes around 70 percent patch the problem with this product is that they take over more or less of the domestic tomato market pushing out national producers, so there are a large number of tomato producers who cannot sell their products. He is from Thailand. It's a terrace. We have a lot of land to grow rice, but again rice farmers face the same problem. Tomato farms, so we consume rice in large quantities, it is estimated that we import rice worth about 500 million dollars a year.

Tomato paste and rice are not the only products endangering African markets and threatening farmers' livelihoods in 2018, for example the EU. We also export milk powder, concentrate and meat to West Africa in this Accra market. It is easy to see how imports are displacing domestic products. Many Ghanaian poultry farmers are also quitting. They cannot compete with EU imports. That is to say, in the 1990s Ghana was producing about 90 percent of its portrait needs today we only produce five percent of the majority of portrait products in our market are actually wasted in the European market which the 95 percent of portrait products coming from other places translates into job losses, translates into a distraction from livelihoods, translates into poverty down here and translates into frustration that leads to young people wanting to leave from this country.

We do not have the ability to change these things because we have lost control over our policy in Rwanda. About two years ago, second-hand imports were banned. US handwear and the US kicked them out of the African Growth and Opportunity Act. That's how cruel the response can be if you try to change policy to favor your own people. Free trade should not destroy livelihoods. Sometimes it makes me sad. The point of anger because those who benefit are very few the losers are many is an agricultural consultant in northern Ghana near the tomato factory in Poalugu that closed as a result local farmers are desperate, many of them leaving the region, others are experimenting with alternative crops some still grow tomatoes but only for their own families everything was done by tomatoes when the palgo tomato factory was in operation they used to make a lot of money even though they told me they were making a lot of money because the factory needed and then the market also needed it, but what can you do?

We have to survive, so we have to keep pushing as we get there. The boy is good. I am small. Both of my fruited very well. Now it has reached a new market. market, so everything died in the countryside, they will have like no place where people don't come to buy and that led them to suicide, they have to kill themselves because if they don't kill themselves, the bank will come after them, they won't do it . I have money to pay many people have gone to try their luck in other places most of them go to the cities they went first to Kumasi then to Accra now they are planning to take the trip to Europe none of my children go to school I know they should go to school but I can't pay the tuition sometimes we don't even have money to eat at night we have seen the images of dead immigrants in the Mediterranean Sea my wife is praying for my safe trip she knows me and must trust him No matter what happens, this house is being built by my brother who lives in Accra and this one by my brother in Kumasi.

This is my home. When I return I would like to tear it down and build a concrete one and also one for my mother. Salifu cannot simply apply for a visa, board a plane and fly to Europe. His only option is to save as much money as he can and try to get there. Anyone who can afford it enlists the help of someone known in the village. As a travel agent, Salifu is getting some advice before going abroad. I am stealing or robbing someone, but since I wanted to give them a better future, but it was simply not God's will, it is difficult to know if someone is on their way to the market or on their way to Europe, some of those who decide to make the trip do not They tell their families until they are gone.

Many young people in the region are tired of waiting for life to improve. They reach a point where leaving seems their only option. Men hoping to work on one of Italy's tomato plantations have only one way to reach Europe through the Sahara Desert and the Mediterranean. It is a journey that will cost some of them their lives. The Caritas organization has built a chapel near the tomato fields in Puglia. There are showers here and workers can also seek free medical advice and treatment. Edward survived the trip from Africa, but had an accident in the van on the way to the tomato fields.

Under normal circumstances, this would be covered by workers' compensation and Edward would be on paid sick leave, but on the Appuglia tomato farms, Edward is only paid for the boxes he fills, so he needs to recover as quickly as possible, but Dr. Giovanni Magnifico can only help so much and he can't go back to work because he'd be exposing the wound by eating something and when they go back to work they are back at square one and no one who can help them immigrants contribute a substantial part of the financial aid to Ghana. Edward sends remittances home every month even though he earns so much. little works as hard as he can and it is still never enough he lives not only with the weight of his family's expectations but also with the hostility of many locals many Italians think that we are useless useless until now they still need workers and we do not have documents to work For them it is very bad only they know what they are doing my younger brother so he is waiting for the money to keep him paying school fees and books and as you can see anything a student needs yes, I carry something because I have the responsibility of taking care of my family now without money they can't do anything so far since we will never get it so I have to support them and get a better future for them um yes, I dream of going back and doing something good for myself now I'm making my friends grow, I'm in the work before they come and then I prepare something for them now in Africa, you get it from the labyrinth, yes, because Smith is not many, you use semula, yes, Italian banking, if not, I won't do it. this, but I only remember my house because my mother used to do the same thing, yeah, and you can't go back home, you can't go back to Africa like this, oh, we left Africa, we are responsibilities, so how can we go to Africa like this?

Not this, that's the reason why we can't, we can't go back how many years I spent in this country and I go back to my country with nothing, so I can know that one day, one day, one day, this god will answer my prayers . and I reached my destination somewhat happily and near the town of Tachiman, a man set out to revitalize the local tomato industry when he returned to Ghana some years ago. He apologized and was shocked to see defunct factories, desperate farmers and tons of imported tomatoes after studying and working in the US he wants to invest in his own country Ghanaian tomatoes could be a gold mine red gold but he is also aware of their social responsibility our mandate is to make sure that farmers have enough money in their pockets because We have not benefited from the agricultural environment for quite some time, that is going to change the landscape because once we start producing on a large scale within five ten years, we want to see the whole panorama change and produce quality tomatoes.

I hope is not like that. tomatoes I wish I had all my tomatoes packed in this and left, that's the vision because if we have a container full of tropical tomatoes, always go to the shipping center, that will make me feel really good and know that I have fulfilled my tasks on earth many times. Attempts have been made to revive Ghana's tomato industry. A factory opened here in Tachiman in 2007, but it has been closed for years. Maybe he's about to get a second chance. Let's eat Ghanaian dress. We will provide everything we can because this is who we are. our capacity is approximately 2 metric tons per hour, we are sure that this company will make a great effort to keep providing jobs and money in the pockets of all the farmers and all the stakeholders involved here, once the youth have the job guarantee, then they will not have to migrate across the desert and into the Mediterranean where they will die if the government wants to make sure the industry survives here in Ghana, there has to be a way to protect the industries as buffers, like reducing imports of towards the country, but if the government does not provide that comfort zone then the competition will be unbearable for us, unfortunately if the tomato factory was given a fair chance, it could help boost the fortunes of the region.

Trade policies could support the development of countries in difficulty rather than hinder it. Then Benedicta's family could make a living growing tomatoes, her husband could stay at home, and if she decided to work in Europe for a while, she could travel there safely and live and work under fair conditions. Good morning, Amanda. every morning we talk and every afternoon we talk certain days you see young people with backpacks walking in groups of ten you know they are going to the desert well someone left a week ago but I don't know if they arrived or not and as far as danger goes, humans we can die or we can live this trip is like our life, you can win or lose, that's why they make this trip so that you