In an interview, Hon. Yaw Frimpong Addo, the Deputy Minister of Agriculture, disclosed that Ghana’s food security is under control.
The Minister said food stocks would be sufficient up to the next harvest season. There should be no food shortage in Ghana, he said.
“I would score Ghana’s food security status seven out of ten’.
Hon. Yaw Frimpong Addo
Ghana witnessed a wave of a price increase at the beginning of the year due to the global covid-19 crisis, and now the Russia-Ukraine war has caused a double surge in prices. The Russia-Ukraine war has affected fertilizer supplies, and Ghana is a net importer of fertilizers. This current global crisis has issued some form of threat to the food security status of Ghana.
In describing how Ghana can maintain its food security status, the Minister suggested that MoFA has measures to safeguard Ghana’s food security. The minister said the PFJ’s existence had curbed Ghana’s food insecurity issue because it provides farmers with improved seeds to produce excellent yields.
“Currently, the ministry has some food in the system that needs regulations. People are also taking advantage of the current world crisis, and as such, the food in the system must be managed. If the food in the system is regulated, Ghana will not experience food shortage. Perpetrators who smuggle food outside the country in search of better prices need to be apprehended. The food in the system can last Ghanaians up to the next season but needs to be regulated well else the country will run into shortage”.
Hon. Yaw Frimpong Addo
In throwing light on Ghana’s buffer system, the Minister said. Unfortunately, Ghana’s buffer stock has not had enough resources to purchase food to store in its warehouses.
“There are enough storage systems in Ghana, but there hasn’t been enough food in the storage. Food is everything, so in the mid-year budget review, the ministry will negotiate with the government to focus on how to restock the buffer stock warehouses in the country. Eighty percent of food is produced by smallholder farmers, and that is where the PFJ comes in to support these farmers with inputs to give them the maximum yield. I can liken the PFJ programme to the Operation Feed Yourself policy in the early 70s”.
Hon. Yaw Frimpong Addo
He commended the Ministry of Agriculture for employing over 3000 extension officers to oversee that proper knowledge is disseminated to farmers. The Minister mentioned that every project undergoes review almost every 4 to 5 years. He revealed that many people had shared ideas that MoFA should revise how fertilizer is distributed under the planting for food and jobs programme, and that is being considered. The subsidy for farmers will be reduced to about 15 percent instead of 50 percent.
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