Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture, Yaw Frimpong Addo, has stated that the ministry’s Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) market is a short-term mechanism to address the hikes in food prices on the market.
The government established the PFJ Market as part of a scheme to induce price increases for staples on the market by conveying foodstuffs from food-producing areas and farm gates to the capital city, Accra, for sale at reduced prices.
Five implementation modules make up the government of Ghana’s main agricultural initiative, Planting for Food and Jobs.
Food crops, Planting for Export and Rural Development (PERD), greenhouse technology villages, Raising for Food and Jobs (RFJ), and Agricultural Mechanization Services are the five PFJ modules.
Speaking to the media, Mr Addo asserted that the Agriculture Ministry is planning a long-term strategy that will endlessly cushion farmers and consumers.
“This is a two-pronged approach: we want to save the farmers and urban dwellers.
“It is for a period. You know these crops [yam and plantain]: when they come, between now and January, they are in abundance. So, that is where we want to take the situation, not to demotivate the farmers,” he added.
Last Friday, November 11, 2022, the Ministry began selling food to civil and local government employees on its premises.
A bunch of the plantain was sold minimum of GH₵10 and maximum of GH₵25.
However, some individuals purchased plantains at the Agric Ministry’s premises and said the foodstuffs were expensive as compared to those available in open markets.
On the other hand, the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, who was speaking on the floor of parliament on Wednesday, November 9, said some market women in Accra are charging customers exorbitant amounts for commodities purchased.
According to him, the ministry’s inquiry into price formation has not uncovered any explanations for why food is so expensive at the retail level in various cities around the country.
“There are speculations that it could be due to some traders making supernormal profits. It is something that has to be investigated but in terms of price formation analysis, there is nothing to justify the doubling or tripling of the retail price of food in the major cities.
“Food accessibility in Ghana is also more than satisfactory. In recent times, price hikes of food commodities in the urban centres, particularly Accra, is creating an erroneous impression that food has become inaccessible,” he added.
Meanwhile, the government’s Spokesperson on Governance and Security, Palgrave Boakye-Danquah, has lauded the Agric Ministry for such an initiative.
According to him, this will revive Ghana’s agricultural sector, adding that he believes the initiative will help yield phenomenal results in the coming years.
“The Planting for Food and Jobs programme has been a very successful programme, I will tout it as the best policy for the president’s government.
“Food is bulky. It has so many components and let’s say high transportation cost. So if anything happens on the world market to oil prices, you have a hit on food prices. Same applies to chemical inputs. These are not just for food, but it is for everything. [The current challenges] are not just in Ghana. It is a global phenomenon. That doesn’t mean that our programme is not successful,” he added.
Source: The Independent Ghana