Minister for Food and Agriculture, Eric Opoku, says government has begun processes to establish a farmers’ market system that will allow producers to sell directly to consumers at affordable prices.
Speaking in an interview on Adom FM’s Dwaso Nsem, he said the initiative has already started with support from a team at the University of Cape Coast.
“We have a team at Cape Coast University leading the initiative, and the farmers’ market has already begun,” he said.
Mr. Opoku explained that the idea is to create a space where farmers and consumers can interact directly without middlemen.
“We want to create a market where farmers come directly to meet consumers so that prices can remain affordable,” he noted.
He stressed a major challenge, stating that most of Ghana’s food is produced in rural communities far from Accra.
“The problem is that the bulk of our food comes from the villages, very far from Accra, so if you want to create the same farmers’ market in Accra, you will have to transport the food from the villages to the city and that makes it costly,” he said.
According to him, the ministry is working to address this transportation challenge to make the market system more effective.
Mr. Opoku added that this challenge is the very reason Ghana introduced a food distribution company in the first place.
“When farmers grow the food, it is affordable, but it becomes expensive by the time it reaches Accra,” he explained.
He assured that government is taking steps to reduce these costs and ensure that consumers benefit from the low farmsgate prices.
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