FLASHBACK: Government working to reduce food prices – Agric Minister

The then Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, on June 20, 2022 stated that government was working to reduce food prices in the country.

According to him, the price of food in the country can be attributed to external factors.

He also refuted claims that there was food shortage in the country.

Read the full story originally published on June 20, 2022 by happyghana.

Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, Ghana’s Food and Agriculture Minister, says there’s no food shortage.

“There is no food scarcity in Ghana, as has been claimed; rather, food is costly owing to external circumstances.”

The Minister claimed the rise in food costs was not due to Ghana’s policies but external reasons like an increase in imported chemicals.

As part of his official visit, he addressed MOFA personnel and farmers in the Eastern Region. He informed them that the government was reducing production costs to help customers despite external issues beyond its control.

“We are pushing farmers to transition to organic fertilizers generated locally to lessen fertilizer scarcity on food production and asked the far west to move swiftly to compost.”

Dr. Afriyie Akoto said the government was looking at ways to force banks to lend to farmers to enhance productivity.

This was to address farmers’ incapacity to get loans from banks, he said, adding that attempts to the banks had proven useless over the years and the banks preferred to lend to entrepreneurs over farmers.

Mr Henry Crentsil, Eastern Regional Director of MOFA, said that despite fertilizer scarcity and high production costs, planting for food and employment and other initiatives indicate strong yields.

He claimed farmers’ adoption of better seeds has skyrocketed, especially in maize, signalling an oversupply of food and seasonal price spikes.

The Minister toured private commercial farms, including the Legacy Crop Improvement Center (LCIC), a seed production centre in Otareso, Akuapem North District, and examined its warehouse with a coding room.

He said his tour of the Regions revealed that the nation was well supplied with food, and the facts given by the regional directorates of Agricultural reinforced the idea that Ghana has a healthy, strong agriculture sector inspired by Planting for Food and Jobs.