Watermelon farmers in the North East Region are refusing to plant this season, citing the non-functioning local watermelon factory that has caused them to incur significant financial losses.
The Walewale watermelon factory was built to buy produce from local farmers to help reduce post-harvest losses while increasing their income levels.
Encouraged by this, many farmers increased their production and invested heavily in watermelon farming.
However, the project was severely compromised when the facility was inaugurated in November 2024 by former Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, despite the plant being fundamentally unready for operations.
Ultimately, the factory did not buy the harvest and much of the produce rotted leaving farmers with substantial losses.
Responding to questions in Parliament on Tuesday, July 8, 2025, the Minister for Trade, Industry and Agribusiness, Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare, stated that efforts are ongoing to secure the required funding to ensure the factory becomes fully functional.
She noted that an additional GH₵38 million is required to fully operationalise the facility, explaining that a separate bottling plant is needed before production can begin.
Today, the factory remains empty and abandoned. With the new planting season approaching, farmers are choosing not to invest in watermelons because they do not believe the factory will be ready to support them.
Voices from the Field
Joshua, a watermelon farmer, said, “Last year, we invested much into watermelon because of the promise that the watermelon factory will be in operation, but the factory didn’t buy anything from us. We lost our money and so this year, we just resort to farm in small scale because the factory is still sitting there doing nothing. We don’t want to lose our money again; we are just doing it in a small scale for the market women around.”
Red, another watermelon farmer, “They said we should farm the watermelon because the factory will buy it, but the factory didn’t buy anything. It is not working and because of that, we can’t farm the watermelon again because there is no market.”
Farmers are calling on the government, as a matter of urgency, to implement concrete measures to ensure the factory becomes fully operational.
Joshua added, “I believe the previous government has spent much on the factory, so they can’t let it go to waste. This government should do something about it because the factory is not in use and if we farm watermelon, it’s good but the buyers are the problem”
Meanwhile, the North East Regional Minister, Ibrahim Tia, says the government is currently reviewing the contract to resolve the outstanding challenges and make the factory operational encouraging farmers not to give up as the government is very much aware of the factory and will put it to use as soon as possible.
By Solomon Kwame Kanaluwe
