The Minister for Food and Agriculture Minister, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto has admitted that the prices of food on the market have gone up.
He said in spite of bountiful harvests due to the efficiency of the ‘Planting for Food and Jobs’ initiative, external factors such as Covid-19 and the Russia-Ukraine war, have grossly affected the prices of food products on the local market.
He was speaking on the Super Morning Show, on Wednesday, during a discussion on the impact of the government’s flagship programme on the Agriculture sector.
He noted that in spite of the hikes in food prices, the ‘Planting for Food and Jobs’ initiative has been a success.
“Yes, food prices are high but it doesn’t mean the programme has failed. The fundamentals are strong [but] what has happened to food prices is more to do with externalities rather than within the Agric sector itself,” he said.
According to him, the latest statistics indicate that the agric sector saw an 8.4% growth in 2021 despite Covid-19 challenges and this shows how effective the policy has been.
“If in one year you get crops growing at 8.9% and driving the GDP of the country to 5.4%, you cannot say that the policy has failed. This is evidence of the success of the programme that in spite of all the happenings in the world with Covid-19, the Russia-Ukraine war, Planting for Food and Jobs is very strong.
“I have just come back from an eight-day visit to five regions in the forest zone and all the observations made were very clear that the Planting for Food and Job is strong. [Though] it is facing problems that are outside the remit of this country when it comes to the actual fundamental on the ground, Agric is doing well.”
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