The Minister for Agriculture, Dr. Owusu Afriyie-Akoto, says Ghana’s food security is assured, and that the country faces no shortage in spite of the Coronavirus pandemic in Ghana.
According to him, the abundance in food is attributed to the success government’s flagship Planting for Food and Jobs Programme.
Following the outbreak of the novel Coronavirus in the country, some stakeholders have predicted possible food shortage for items like rice, majority of which is imported into the country.
But the Agric Minister at a press briefing on Thursday said the country has enough food, stating that the problem the country has been facing since 2018 has been how to manage the surplus.
“In the few days before the lockdown, the instant hike in prices, and people falling over themselves in the market to get stocks to their homes. I did say after the lockdown that there is no need for it because we have plenty of food. The success of Planting for food and Jobs has been so instant that the problem that we are facing in this country since 2018 has been how do we manage the surplus because, on-farm the Ghanaian farmer has proven beyond doubt that with the right support from the government, they will deliver and they are delivering. They are providing surpluses which are increasing every year” Mr. Afriyie-Akoto said.
The Minister further noted that Ghana’s main ways of managing the food outlets has been exporting to West African neighbours.
He said there are plans to process some of the products to enable them last longer on the shelves.
He said currently about 19 food items are being exported to countries such as Nigeria, Niger, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Togo and Mali.
“Ghana has suddenly become a food basket where we are sending about 19 different food items to a lot of our West Africa neighbours,” he said.
Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) Programme
The Planting for Food and Jobs seeks to promote growth in food production and create more in the country.
It also seeks to ensure food security and produce the raw material to feed the agro-processing industries.