A former Research Scientist with the Savannah Agricultural Research Institute (SARI) of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Professor Roger Kanton, has questioned if the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto was conversant with the agricultural value chain in the country.
He also wondered if the Minister has veered off his mandate and now ventured into the haulage, marketing and food distribution to Ghanaians.
His comment comes on the back of the sale of foodstuff at the premises of the Agric Ministry on Friday, November 11, 2022.
According to him, carting goods from farmers at farmgates was the responsibility of Ghana Buffer Stock and not the Agric Ministry.
Speaking on Citi Breakfast Show on November 10, 2022, Prof Kanton said, “I want you to ask him, is that the mandate of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture? Is there now going to be a constitutional shift in its mandate, to now go into haulage, marketing and food distribution.”
He added that, “does he have the capacity, moving food from rural areas to urban centres, ask the Minister if he is conversant and acquainted with the agricultural value chain. The agricultural value chain has a lot of actors or players, so you cannot leave your chain and act on somebody’s chain.”
“There is a whole organization that is tasked to take off excess food from farmers and that is the buffer stock, my question is how well they have functioned. They keep saying that there is enough food, then they should deploy people from buffer stock, why is he using his scanty resources as the technical ministry to wade into an area that they don’t have the competence…I find it to be a little bit bizarre,” he pointed out.
The Ministry of Food and Agriculture on Friday, November 11, 2022, began the sale of foodstuff to Ghanaians.
According to the Ministry, the move was to sell foodstuff directly from the farmers in the rural areas to persons in the urban areas at a much cheaper rate.
Agric Minister, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto