Ministry Of Food and Agriculture Begins Selling Of Foodstuffs Today With Only Plantain Available
The Ministry of Food and Agriculture has commenced the sale of foodstuffs for civil servants, especially within the Greater Accra Region today, November 11, 2022.
This initiative is one of the measures the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto has taken to make food affordable for the residents of Accra. Dr. Afriyie Akoto in a stakeholders meeting on November 2, 2022, together with some farmers pronounced that the Ministry of Food and Agriculture will liaise with the transport ministry to transport foodstuffs from the farm gates to the forecourt of the Ministry and sell them at affordable prices to consumers.
Although the idea attracted many criticisms, this policy implementation was a shock to most people in the capital city of Accra.
In an interview with some buyers at the Ministry, they described the effort by the ministry as an excellent and laudable one.
“I decided to come to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to buy some foodstuffs after hearing it has started today. When I came, I realized they have only plantain at the moment and the prices are very high compared to those at the main market centers. Some of the bunches of the plantains are being sold at GH₵15.00, GH₵20.00, and other prices ” one civil servant disclosed in an interview monitored by the Ghana Report on Joy News.
Another civil servant also voiced that she came to the market for fish, pepper, onion, and others but unfortunately she was unable to get those perishable food items. She suggested the ministry should factor in their agenda the preservation of such perishable foodstuffs in their ‘Planting For Food And Jobs Market Agenda ‘ in order to meet the demand of all civil servants in the regions.
The Public Relations Officer(PRO) for the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Bagbara Tanko speaking to the media avered that “this laudable initiative by the ministry is one of the ways of meeting the demands of Ghanaians through Planting for Food and Jobs”.
He added that “although the ministry faced countless challenges with the implementation of the policy of carting plantain to Accra, other food items will soon be brought onstream to be sold at the premises of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture”.