The shortage and price hikes of food commodities have been attributed to the exportation of food commodities to other African countries, but the General Secretary of the General Agricultural Workers Union of Ghana (GAWUG), Mr. Edward Kariwe has refuted the assertion.
Exportation of rice, maize, and soybean have been declining and there is no way that could have had an effect on Ghana’s food system.
According to Mr. Kariwe, the success of the Planting for Food and Job (PFJ) was over-emphasized. In 2020, PFJ was successful that there was an abundance of food in Ghana and that maize production had increased by 110% and rice production 48%, projected figures had said.
Surprisingly, he said with such a remarkable increase in production as the figures suggest, how come there was no availability of maize between January to July and August as exportation has declined?
He suspected that the figures that were given in 2020 about the level of production were exaggerated and the figures did not support the availability of food in the country.
The General Secretary recalled that in 2018, Ghana exported more food commodities than in 2019 and in 2020, yet in 2018 Ghana did not have a food shortage, therefore, export cannot be the yardstick for the shortage and high cost of food commodities as Ghana exported less in 2020.
He acknowledged that Planting for Food and Jobs has made a success but it has been exaggerated. He called for a national conversation to probe into the real causes of the current country’s agriculture situation because the future looks very disastrous.
