The Programmes Head at the Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana, Dr. Charles Nyaaba has described the Minister for Food and Agriculture Dr. Afriyie Akoto’s comments on food security as “based domestic data and comments that lacked sense” which should have been avoided.
Mr. Charles Nyaaba who spoke on A1 Radio’s DayBreak Upper East show, explained that prices of commodities at the various markets are skyrocketing. He said the Minister’s reliance on his wife’s comments about the prices of food on the market shows that the Minister is not on top of issues.
Dr. Nyaaba said the Ghana Statistical Service, as well as other prominent institutions, put out data that stated that food prices have hit a record high.
He stated, “if you look at the information the Minister relies on, it is domestic information, his references were based on the fact that, his wife went to the market and the wife never told him that, there were increases in food prices, that doesn’t make sense to me”.
“His reference that, when you go to the Northern part of Ghana specifically Tamale, there are cars with foreign numbers coming to buy maize and other grains across the country, that is not true. I am always in Tamale, I am in Upper West and East, we don’t even have enough, we don’t have enough for our own consumption we rather depend on those countries to get the food that we need,” he stressed.
Dr. Nyaaba said Ghana imports a lot of tomatoes from neighbouring Burkina Faso asking how a country that is food sufficient would import tomatoes. He further revealed that there are farmers who go as far as Ivory Coast for Maize and other grains.
His comment come on the back of the Minister for Food and Agriculture Dr. Afriyie Akoto’s interview which aired on Citi TV. Dr. Akoto asserted that prices of commodities in the markets are stable because his wife, who goes to the market had not drawn his attention to the high prices as reported by local and national media.
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