Minister of State-designate at the Finance Ministry, Abena Osei-Asare, has asserted that the government’s flagship program, Planting for Food and Jobs, is addressing the issue of food inflation in the country.
The Planting for Food and Jobs policy, introduced in 2017 by the current government, aims to reform the agricultural sector, reduce rice imports by 70%, and improve the welfare of farmers.
It was implemented to counteract declining food production and unemployment rates. Despite its implementation, food inflation soared to over 50% in 2022.
However, during her parliamentary ministerial vetting, the current deputy finance minister emphasized that the introduction of the Planting for Food and Jobs policy has significantly contributed to reducing food inflation.
She noted that food inflation decreased from 54.1% in December 2022 to 28.7% in December 2023.
“Quickly we realized that the food component played a huge role in inflation and the government quickly put some measures in place and revived the planting for food and jobs. And so, as we speak, the food components of inflation which was around 59.7% in December 2022 has declined to 28.7% in December 2023. So clearly, we have put measures in place.”, she told the committee.
“We are doing everything possible Mr. Chairman. We are not there yet but we are doing everything possible to stabilize these important components of the macro economy and to make sure our people are best served in the way they need to be served”
The Atiwa East MP further affirmed that the economy is on the right path due to the effective measures implemented by the NPP-led government.
Meanwhile, the Ghana Statistical Service reported an increase in monthly food inflation in February 2024, despite an overall decline in inflation for the month.
Over the past 12 months, both food and non-food inflation have marginally decreased to 27.0% and 20.0% respectively. However, month-on-month food inflation increased from 1.6% to 2.0% in February, driven by rising prices of vegetables, tubers, plantains, fish, and seafood.