COVID-19: Ghana has enough food – Agric Minister

The Minister for Agriculture Owusu Afriyie-Akoto says Ghana has enough food in store despite the outbreak of COVID-19 in Ghana.

There have been fears that the disease in Ghana, coupled with its related restrictions in the country could lead to food insecurity and shortages.

But the sector minister at a press briefing on Thursday said the country has enough food that should clear any thought of a possible shortage in the country.

Although he didn’t state the period Ghana’s stock could last for, he said farmers in the country continue to produce enough, with the support of the government.

He said the country was producing in excess of its consumption capacity and that the challenge since 2018 has been how to manage the surpluses.

“In the few days before the lockdown, the instant hike in prices, and people falling over themselves in the market to get stocks to their homes. I did say after the lockdown that there is no need for it because we have plenty of food. The success of planting for food and jobs have been so instant that h the problem that we are facing in this country since 2018 has been how do we manage the surplus because, on-farm the Ghanaian farmer has proven beyond doubt that with the right support from the government, they will deliver and they are delivering. They are providing surpluses which are increasing every year. That has been the in the last three years,” Mr. Afriyie-Akoto said.

The Minister further noted that Ghana’s main ways of managing the outlets has been exporting to West African neighbours and plans to process some of the products to enable them last longer on shelves.

He said currently, about 19 food items were being exported to countries such as Nigeria, Niger, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Togo and Mali.

“Ghana has suddenly become a food basket where we are sending about 19 different food items to a lot of our West Africa neighbours,” said.

Source: Ghana/otecfmghana.com