The Minister in charge of Food and Agriculture, Dr. Bryan Acheampong has reiterated that Ghana is on the right track to become food sufficient in the next five years.
“The PFJ targets are on course and Ghana will be food self-sufficient in the staples and poultry and we are working very hard”
Dr. Bryan Acheampong made this declaration at a brief award ceremony organized for the 2023 National Best Farmer on Wednesday, May 8, 2024, in Accra.
According to the minister, the kind of things being done in the Agric sector has never been done adding that the private sector alone as of last year brought in about eleven million day-old chicks and this year, government is bringing in 18 million.
This, the minister said will go a long way to boost the sector and reduce the level of importation.
He also mentioned that “currently, Ghana is 15% food sufficient and by the end of this year he is hoping we will get to 23% then 45% and so on”.
Acknowledging the gains made since assuming the role as the sector minister, Dr. Bryan Acheampong revealed that within the period of 12 months, 25,000 hectares of irrigation have been added to the existing one.
The Minister’s assertion of attaining food self-sufficiency has, however, been backed by recent data from the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) on food.
Data from the statistical service revealed that food inflation has fallen to the lowest in 13-month leading to a drop in the overall inflation for April 2024.
The country’s Inflation in March 2024 rose to 25.8% from the 23.2% it recorded in February.
However presenting the economic data, Government Statistician, Prof Samuel Kobina Anim disclosed the 26.8% inflation for food items, which is the lowest since March 2023 has slowed the overall inflation for April 2024 to 25.0%.
At the event, the Agricultural Development Bank PLC (ADB), sponsors of the National Best Farmer award handed over a cash award of One million Ghana Cedis to Madam Charity Akortia.
