30% of food produced in Ghana gets spoiled at the farm – Food Security Analyst

Consumer Price Index (CPI) data released by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) has revealed that Ghana’s inflation driven by food and fuel, among others shot up to 40.4% in October 2022.

Per the data, food and non-food inflation also rose to hit 43.7 percent and 37.8% respectively.

Reacting to the data, Food Security Analyst with the Chamber of Agribusiness, Dr. Evans Ntiamoah, has claimed that post-harvest losses on various farms are to blame for the recent hikes in food prices.

In addition, he highlighted the poor investment in the agriculture industry as one of the problems contributing to the woes of the sector.

He continued that about 30% of the food that we produce in Ghana spoils at the farm, which is a significant problem for the nation.

“About 30% of the food that we produce gets spoiled at the farm, that is a big challenge and so we should find innovative ways to protect our produce,” he said.

Speaking on university-based Radio Station, Radio Univers, the agricultural expert urged the government to pay attention to the industry and advocated for significant changes in the agri-business.

He criticized the ongoing importation of food products into the Ghanaian market, which he claims is to blame for recent increases in food costs.

He then counselled the government to develop more creative methods of lowering post-harvest losses and to study other nations' agricultural advancements to improve Ghana's agriculture.

“Agriculture is still an important sector of the country. Even though our contribution to GDP has declined so low, not only does the sector provides food, we also provide raw materials for the processing and manufacturing sector. It’s also very crucial in terms of providing jobs and livelihood for a vast number of people, so we should find innovative ways to protect our produce,” he said.

Meanwhile, Ghana is recognized as the nation with the biggest increases in food prices by the World Bank.

With a 122% increase in food prices, the nation has achieved the toughest achievement in sub-Saharan Africa.

AM/BOG