The stakes are high for an imminent shortage of tomatoes due to ongoing strike action by the members of the Ghana Transporters and Tomato Traders Association on basis of consistent robbery attacks on drivers transporting fresh tomatoes from Burkina Faso to Ghana.
If the situation is not addressed, the strike may result in a rise in food inflation of which the vegetable sub-class has consistently been the dominant driver over the years. Food contributed 59.1 percent to the total inflation in December last year. This is the highest contribution recorded since April 2020 when COVID-19 started to affect Ghana. Within the Food Division, Vegetables was the Subclass with the highest rate of inflation of 24.2 percent followed by Fish and other Seafood with 22.9 percent.
Even though Ghana has abundant arable lands, food production especially vegetables has been confronted with several challenges, including the quality of seeds used by farmers, over-reliance on rain or limited use of irrigation as well as poor road networks and lack of storage facilities. These constraints force the country to import food to bridge the deficits created by limited food production in the country.
In 2018, The Minister of Finance, Mr. Ken Ofori-Atta, told members of the Ghana Trades Union Congress (TUC) in Accra that food imports cost the nation an average of US$2.4 billion every year. Major food imports include rice, sugar, sorghum, frozen chicken, and meat, among other food items, for domestic and industrial consumption. At US$2.4 billion, the cost of food imports is about a quarter of the value of non-oil imports, which closed 2020 at US$10.54 billion.
Even though the minister attributed this to a strong appetite for imported consumables, it may also be attributed to the fact that the countries Ghana import from have a comparative cost advantage over Ghana i.e., their prices therefore may be lower compared to domestically produced goods.
The government fully aware of the deficits in the food supply in the country has rolled out some policies to boost the agriculture sector. One of such policies is the Planting for Food & Jobs (PFJ) initiative.
The government through the Planting for Food & Jobs (PFJ) initiatives aims to overcome the food deficits, reduce importation of basic food commodities and increase exports to the neighboring countries. The major goal of the PFJ initiative is to modernize the agriculture sector of the economy to: improve food security, create employment opportunities, and reduce poverty.
The PFJ initiative, many thought will bring to an end the high food prices in the country. Whilst the benefits from this program cannot be underestimated, the fact that food continues to be the major driver of inflation in Ghana raises some questions as to whether the initiative is making the required impacts.
Whilst delivering his last State of the Nations Address for his first tenure of office in Parliament, President Nana Akufo-Addo said Ghana is now a net exporter food and does not have to import basic food like plantain and tomatoes. However, the recent strike action shows that Ghana still relies on the importation of tomatoes from its neighbors. This comes after shortages of maize and onions hit the country in the later part of 2020.
Whilst several other factors may account for the rise in food prices, not forgetting the impact of COVID-19, we will expect to see more from the government in terms of the benefits of the laudable PFJ initiatives. Whereas the country will need to import certain goods, the PFJ initiative should be able to produce enough food to meet domestic demand to drive down the cost of food in the country.
