[ 2021-03-10 ]

Ghana has not experienced food shortages due to 'bold policies' - Akufo-Addo
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has stated
that Ghana did not experience a food shortage in
2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic because
of "the bold policies" implemented by his
government since 2017.
The President in the first State of the Nation's
Address (SONA) of his second term Tuesday in
Parliament said policies such as the Planting for
Food and Jobs (PFJ) programme, Rearing for Food
and Jobs, the 1-Village-1-Dam initiative,
1-District-1-Warehouse policy and the
establishment of greenhouse villages had prevented
Ghana from experiencing a famine.



He said: "Mr Speaker, our nation’s food
resilience has been severely tested over the past
year. The closure of borders, in the midst of the
pandemic, meant that we have had to depend largely
on food we produced. We have fared well under the
circumstances, largely as a result of the bold
policies implemented by government since 2017,
such as the programme for Planting for Food and
Jobs, Rearing for Food and Jobs, the
1-Village-1-Dam initiative, 1-District-1-Warehouse
policy, establishment of greenhouse villages,
revitalization of the cocoa rehabilitation
programme, and the reactivation of our aquaculture
industry. I am happy to inform the House that,
during this period of the pandemic, we have
experienced no food shortages in the country."

President Akufo-Addo also stated that there had
been increases in the production of important
foodstuffs such as maize, tomatoes and plantain.

"There have been increases in maize and rice
yields by one hundred and ten percent (110%) and
forty-eight percent (48%) respectively. We have,
for the first time in a long while, become a net
exporter of food, as opposed to the days of
importation of tomatoes and plantain. Indeed, in
2019, we exported some one hundred and forty
thousand metric tons (140,000 MT) to our
neighbours. We are determined to take full
advantage of African Continental Free Trade Area
(AfCFTA) to produce more in Ghana, to sell more to
Africa and beyond, as we move Ghana Beyond Aid".

Source - Graphic Online

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