Some agriculture stakeholder groups have condemned what they say is Minister of Food and Agriculture’s disregard for data on the state of the agric sector.
In a statement, they said they were “appalled and disappointed” by comments by the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, during an interview on the Citi Breakfast Show on Wednesday 16th March 2022.
The minister maintains that the agric sector is in good standing in the wake of policies like the planting for food and jobs.
The groups in question are the Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana (PFAG), Chamber of Agribusiness Ghana (CAG), the General Agricultural Workers Union (GAWU), the Rice Millers Association of Ghana (RMAG), and Food Sovereignty Ghana (FSG).
Among other things, they are upset the government refuses to acknowledge Ghana’s struggling situation with food security, with the 2021 Global Food Index ranking Ghana 82nd, which is a drop from 76th in 2016.
The groups cited the Ghana Statistical Services’ (GSS) indication that food inflation in Ghana had reached an all-time high of 17.40 percent as of February 2022.
“If this is not a reflection of the double whammy of escalating prices and weak food supplies, which undermine food security, then we are not sure what is.”
“The Minister continues to live in the thinking that all things are rosy in the sector when the reality is that we are saddled with the unavailability of food coupled with high food prices,” the groups noted.
The groups warned that the minister and other policymakers should not dismiss the negative forecasts of Ghana’s agriculture sector.
“In fact, forecast by analysts and economists suggest that the situation will get worse in the coming months due to existing weaknesses in our systems as well as global pressures.”
“At the minimum, such reports should be seen as feedback to enable government and the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to examine their policy toolkits to address the underlying risks in a collaborative manner,” they added.
