Mad Rush For Foodstuffs At Makola Market As Agric Ministry Extends PFJ Market

Over one hundred market women and men rushed to purchase the affordable plantain and yam made available on the Makola market as the Ministry of Food and Agriculture extended the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) Market to that part of the capital.

The Ministry of Food and Agriculture took this action in a bid to check food inflation, using the PFJ model markets as symbolic of natural, untainted market conditions. It is to make food staples accessible to ordinary Ghanaians, especially public servants. Extending it to Ghana’s largest market, Makola in Accra is to funnel the supplies to larger numbers. The foodstuffs, mainly plantain and yam were sold at less than the prices of those on the normal market.

To the surprise of the Ministry, over 100 people available by then chanced on the foodstuffs to purchase in larger quantities. The stampede at the market depicted the current economic hardship faced by ordinary Ghanaians.

In interviews with some of the buyers, they claimed the prices were very affordable compared to what they usually buy at the major market centres.

The majority of the buyers interviewed claimed the foodstuffs they have bought are not to be resold to others but for family consumption.

Others said they will resell the food items at affordable prices.

As of Friday, November 11 till Monday, November 14, 2022, only civil servants were permitted to purchase foodstuffs at the planting for food and jobs markets at the forecourt of the Ministry.

Meanwhile, the Ministry has planned to extend the vending points to Okaishie and Kwame Nkrumah Circle as well, for the convenience of all buyers across the capital city, Accra.

In another development, whilst talking on Joy TV and monitored by The Ghana Report, Aide to the Agric Minister, Issah Alhassan, and an opposition NDC MP, Eric Opoku, diverged on whether the PFJ markets are feasible, sustainable, and proven to be a success in the interim.