The Ministry of Food and Agriculture has noted that it has no control over the rising cost of food in the country.
Food prices have been on the increase in the past few months, pushing inflation to 23.6%.
Public Relations Officer of the Ministry, Bagbara Tanko, in a CitiNewsroom interview indicated that a lot of factors are contributing to the rise in food prices.
These factors include fertilizer supply, cost of agricultural inputs, and transportation cost, among others.
“The increase in the prices of foodstuff depends on a number of factors that we do not have control over,” he said.
The Ghana Statistical Service’s (GSS) latest data on inflation revealed that food and non-alcoholic beverages inflation was 26.6%, and that of non-food inflation stood at 21.3%.
Meanwhile, the PRO stated that the government’s flagship Planting for Jobs programme has had a great impact on Ghana’s agric sector.
“Our concern as a Ministry is that, is there food available in the market? Which is yes, but with the increases in prices, it is absolutely difficult for us as a Ministry to control”, he emphasized.
“Factors such as the cost of inputs and fuel, the global effect of COVID-19 affected the supply of fertilizer, and so if the cost of production increases for the farmer and the quantity of fertilizer to be obtained even under the subsidized program [is affected] and the cost of input is high, then definitely, the farmer should at least be breaking even. The most painful thing is that most middlemen go to the farm gates for the cheaper prices, and they would have to transport them to the market centers’, Bagbara Tanko added.
