Your ‘food price propaganda’ is another pandemic to fight in Ghana – Agric expert tells Minister.

Agriculture expert and Agricultural Policy Analyst for Alliance for Social Equity and Public Accountability (ASEPA), Oscar Komla Bedzrah, has reacted to recent ‘cheaper food price’ claims by Ghana’s agriculture Minister, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto.

In a statement copied to media houses, Oscar Bedzra was of the view that food prices are high in Ghana. In his reactions, he stated that the minister’s false comment is another pandemic to fight in Ghana and called on Ghanaians to monitor his comments critically.

He further added that in a market survey conducted to ascertain the comments of the sector minister, he discovered that prices of food commodities especially that of plantain is twice and thrice the price compared to what was announced by the agriculture minister on Thursday.

Read the full statement:

AGRIC MINISTER SHOULD RETRACT HIS ‘CHEAPER FOOD PRICES’ COMMENT AND APOLOGIZE TO GHANAIANS .

Alliance for Social Equity and Public Accountability (ASEPA) has noted with great concerns, comments made by the Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, the minister responsible for Food and Agriculture

In a press briefing at the Ministry of Information on Thursday 23rd of April 2020, the Hon Minister stated that, food prices are now cheaper than before and that, further stated that five fingers of plantain costs between Ghc3 – 5.

I together with a team have taken up his comments, followed up in the various markets and found out that, our agric minister presented half and even one-third the price of the reality in the markets. It would additionally interest fellow Ghanaians to note that, five fingers of plantain costs as high as Ghc15 and sometimes even Ghc17.

ASEPA can recount that, the very sector minister in his first presentation on the state of Agriculture few weeks during the outbreak of COVID-19 related high prices of food on our markets to panic buying.

If at this point in time our minister responsible for Food and Agriculture could falsify prices and present to the Ghanian populace wanting to outsmart Ghanaians, ASEPA wish to remind him that, the very citizens he keep announcing these prices to are the very persons going to the markets to meet the reality.

ASEPA is by this medium calling on the Dr. Owusu Akoto Afriyie to retract his statement and apologize to Ghanaians for misleading us because we cannot live in a country where in the midst of this pandemic, lies and falsehood peddled by our minister should be another set of pandemic to fight in Ghana.

ASEPA also pray and hope that the sector minister acts and talk to suit the reality in the Ghanaian markets other than feeding our ears with falsehood.

Signed
Oscar Komla Bedzra
Agric Policy Analyst -ASEPA
0249938890

Cc.

All Media Houses.