FLASHBACK: Ghana imports $24 million worth of onions from Niger – Bryan Acheampong

The Minister of Food and Agriculture, Bryan Acheampong, in September 2023 bemoaned the high import rate of onions from neighbouring countries.

He noted that the country imports onions worth $24 million from Niger.

Read the full story originally published on September 13, 2023 by www.ghanaweb.com.

The Minister for Food and Agriculture, Bryan Acheampong, has lamented the country’s inability to handle its own food matters.

According to him, Ghana imports about $24 million worth of onions from Niger alone.

He said Ghana will only need a quarter of what is needed to import to become self-reliant.

“We have identified zones; we know the seed requirement, fertiliser, and people requirement and we are going to get it done … we imported close US$24 million of onions from Niger.

“I need a quarter of that to fix our onion problem with the land available in the Volta, Bono, Northern Regions with a quarter of that money because they produce US$26 million worth of onions, Ghana takes US$24 million, Nigeria takes about US$800, 000,” he said on Asaase radio.

Bryan Acheampong said the government will deal with the problem under the second phase of the Planting for Food and Jobs programme.

“We are going to deal with it, under Planting for Food and Jobs phase two we have a clear plan that we are going to share. So, Ghanaians know the size of our problem and how we are dealing with it. We are dealing with ten crops,” Acheampong added.