The Upper East Regional Minister, Stephen Yakubu, is particularly concerned about the quality of food produce that Ghanaians are consuming. Mr. Yakubu believes the processes for the production of both cereals and vegetables have several health consequences for consumers.
The Regional Minister said, “Gone are the days where food produces were safe from all kinds of chemicals and could fight some illnesses. This cannot be said today.”
According to Mr. Yakubu, farmers nowadays are more focused on making money from their farming than considering the quality of their produce, which no one is concerned about, leading to all kinds of food being taken to the market for sale.
Speaking at this year’s Agriculture Performance Review, organized in partnership with the Department of Food and Agriculture and Policy Link, the Regional Minister said, “Recent kidney-related issues that are now common among people, one cannot rule out the quality of food.”
“In the Upper East region, we have a bigger problem. If you go to our hospitals, you will see young people having kidney problems. What causes it? It is the food that we eat. Now, if I am a farmer and I am growing my crops, I need more to sell. I really don’t care who is going to eat it because no one measures the fertilizer they put into it, or no one measures the insecticide they use, or whatever.”
The Minister also disagreed with the Department of Food and Agriculture’s reports that suggest there is adequate food in the region. He explained that there may be enough food, but the farmers who own these food items are never ready to sell it out now because of the high cost of production they encountered, so they would rather wait for the time when prices would be high, just like he was waiting.
The Upper East Regional Director for the Department of Agriculture, Alhaji Fuseini Zakaria, in response to the Minister’s concerns, said his department is working very hard to ensure that farmers produce quality food items for the Ghanaian market.
Source: A1radioonline.com|101.1Mhz|David Azure| Bolgatanga|
