Speaking on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen show, Mr. Opoku commended Ghanaian farmers for their resilience despite challenges, describing their performance as exceptional.

According to the minister, the country currently has adequate buffer stocks to meet future needs. He further highlighted that the agriculture sector has been a major driver of economic growth, contributing significantly to the reduction of food inflation and general food prices.

Mr. Opoku also disclosed that the government is working to improve agricultural roads to ease transportation challenges and enhance access to markets.

“I believe we need to applaud Ghanaian farmers for their remarkable achievements despite the challenges they face. There have been no food shortages, and we maintain a buffer stock to ensure we are prepared for rainy days. Preliminary data indicates that we have exceeded our expectations,” Mr. Opoku said.

He added, “Agriculture has been a key driver of growth in our economy. Food inflation has decreased, and overall food prices have gone down. We are also working on improving agricultural roads to facilitate easier transportation.”

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Speaking after swearing in the first batch of ministers at the Jubilee House on Wednesday, January 22, President Mahama assured, “We have put in short-term measures to ensure that our children have adequate food, so they can continue their education without interruption.”

He noted that while these interim steps are critical, his government is also working on long-term solutions to address the issue comprehensively.

“These short-term measures will sustain our children in school as we strategize on streamlining the food supply system,” he explained.

Mahama further disclosed that his administration is tackling significant debts inherited from the previous government, including arrears owed to schools since 2021.

“We are preparing to pay off these debts to stabilize the education sector,” he added.

The food shortage issue was highlighted earlier this month by the Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS), who reported inadequate food supplies and unpaid feeding fees. Some schools had asked parents to provide food for their children upon resumption.

President Mahama reaffirmed his commitment to resolving the challenges, ensuring that no student is deprived of education due to food shortages.

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The school stated that, contrary to reports, it took delivery of various food items from the National Buffer Stock Company on November 4, 9, 13, 19, and 21, respectively.

A statement signed by the headmaster, Rev. Fr. Patrick Godfred Appiah (PhD.), said the reports were unfounded and untrue.

“These claims that students are not being fed properly due to a lack of food are both unfounded and untrue,” the statement read in part.

He acknowledged the government’s critical support under the Free SHS policy, which has been instrumental in maintaining smooth operations.

The headmaster also commended the efforts of the kitchen staff, who worked tirelessly to prepare meals for students during the recent strike by the Teachers and Educational Workers Union (TEWU).

“Their dedication ensured that students’ meals were not disrupted despite the challenges posed by the industrial action,” he lauded.

Rev. Fr. Appiah further expressed gratitude to the Central Regional Director of Education, who visited the school to motivate the matron and her team.

Read the statement below:

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According to him, most of the communities where illegal mining activities occur are also producers of food crops.

He explained that, since the river bodies and soil are polluted, this affects the crops.

Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile on September 21, he stressed the urgent need to tackle these mining activities or risk having contaminated food on the market.

“First of all, we have established that crops have the potential to take up the heavy metals and secondarily, we have been able to trace that most of the top ten producers these foods, some of them are galamsey endemic areas. Which means that we are likely to pollute your food system by a certain margin or a certain percentage,” he said.

His comments come on the back of the Centre’s latest research, which found some level of contamination in food.

Mr Issifu explained that the research found that crops have the potential to absorb heavy metals. It also revealed that most of the top 10 crop-producing areas are affected by illegal mining (galamsey). This, he said, means that the food system is consistently polluted by a certain percentage.

“If you take 100 grams of corn, if you are going to eat 100 grams of corn by way of making banku or water every food you are going to make out of the corn, about 6 grams of that 100 grams is likely to be polluted because the corn could be coming from these galamsey epidemic areas that we have mapped,” he said.

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The Association also raised serious concerns about the unequal distribution of resources in the second phase of the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) programme.

During a press conference in Accra, the Executive Director of the association, Bismark Nortey, revealed that many of its members did not benefit from this phase, which was intended to build on the successes of the initial programme while addressing its shortcomings.

He also complained about the lack of benefits from the “One Village, One Dam” policy and other key government initiatives aimed at improving agriculture.

“PFAC is particularly worried about the loud silence of the ministry regarding this particular development which has left a lot of our members and farmers to throw their hands in despair. We the members of PFAC in the various regions are therefore addressing this particular meeting for you people to understand the frustration that we are going through and also to inform the general Ghanaian populace to brace themselves for tough times and food crisis if the government does not intervene to resolve these issues.”

“The announcement of the subsequent launch of the PFJ 2.0 brought some relief and hope for some farmers throughout the country as we anticipated a comprehensive and input service support across the value chain.”

Source: Myjoyonline

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The situation according to Angel Carbonu is due to the inadequate supply of essential food items to the various schools.

He disclosed this on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen programme stating the distribution of food by the National Buffer Stock is not helping the schools.

“We have centralised the distribution of food by Buffer Stock but they do not have the technical capacity to be in terms with the school population at every point in time.

“So sometimes they will bring the food items to the schools and you have one that is more than what they need. The headteacher will call another school where they may have a shortage then they will have take their trucks there to exchange,” he lamented.

In Mr Carbonu’s view, it will be more prudent for headteachers to be allowed to buy what they need at a particular time.

“The NPP is a government that is supposed to support decentralisation because it is a conservative, capitalist-oriented party but that is not the case. So once we have a bureaucratic system which creates loop holes, people take advantage,” he added.

The Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS) in October 2023 requested that the schools be given the opportunity to purchase their own food items.

The President of CHASS, Reverend Steven Owusu Sekyere at the 61st National Annual Conference, said they are suffering in the hands of suppliers due to debt owed them, hence their appeal.

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On Wednesday, students of the community day school protested against feeding challenges in the school.

Speaking with JoyNews, some students said the caterers no longer prepare meals for them and when they do, it is a repeat of the same dish, and usually salt deficient.

A male student obviously angered by the situation, said they are fed once a day and that the food is often tasteless.

“They are providing them with food three times but here only once, they cook it without salt, it’s always banku. We are here suffering every day, what is wrong with us?” he asked.

Another female student said, “They stopped cooking for us from 29th May up till date [July 12, 2023] they haven’t started cooking for us (again).”

“We have made a petition to the authorities, yet there is no feedback. That’s the reason we are out here and not in class,” she said.

Meanwhile, CHASS fears the challenges could hamper the smooth operations of the school and might create tensions between school authorities and the students and possibly spread to other schools.

The Upper East Regional Secretary of CHASS, Bukari Abdul said following the demonstration, the school has partially been shut down.

“What has happened in Bunduri is likely to influence other students in other schools to also agitate,”

He admitted that the students have filed a complaint, however, he said he asked that the students channel their report to their immediate authority, that is the district or regional directors to deal with the issue.

Mr Abdul added that the situation was worrying because other boarding schools also suffered a similar challenge.

Touching on some food items the boarding schools lacked, he said, “Groundnut has become a problem and from January till now we have not had milk, bread flour too has become a challenge so we do without it.”

He seized the opportunity to appeal to the government and the National Buffer Stock Company to resolve the issues because beneficiaries of the free Senior High School were at the receiving end of the disparities.

Meanwhile, Binduri District Director of Education, John Jaggrey Soka says there will soon be an emergency meeting with the school authorities on the issue to get the caterer to resume cooking from Monday.

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The students abandoned their classrooms and marched through the school wielding sticks while school property were destroyed.

Expressing their frustration, a student said school authorities since May 29, 2023, have not provided them with hot meals, a situation she described as worrying.

“We have informed the authorities and nothing has been done about it. Aside from the food, we have not been given house dresses since we came to this school and when we go out, we look nothing like our colleagues from other schools,” a disgruntled female student told Accra-based TV3.

The timely intervention of the District Ghana Education Service (GES) Director, John Soka Jaggrey and other officials, however, brought the situation under control.

Mr Jaggrey urged calm among the students and directed them to return to their classrooms while relevant authorities meet to resolve the situation.

The students, however, declined the directive due to which the GES Director announced a shutdown of the school.

“If that is the case, we will ask that you stay in your homes until we are able to resolve the issues then you come back. When the caterer resumes and we are sure you can have your hot meals, then we call you back,” he announced.

The students who appeared elated over the announcement in unison shouted ‘yes’.

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The regional chapter of the Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools last week issued a warning that students and parents may be compelled to take up the cost of feeding if the government failed to provide supplies within six days.

In a letter to the Regional Director of the Ghana Education Service, CHASS noted that the food suppliers contacted by the Buffer Stock Company, as well as local suppliers contacted to help out are all refusing to do so, citing non-payment of outstanding monies owed them by the government.

This they say has exacerbated an already dire situation in schools in the region, with some schools not having enough supplies to last a week.

Most schools had run out of maize, rice, sugar, palm oil and other oils, soya beans, sardine and mackerels, and Tombrown.

Speaking to JoyNews, the Public Relations Officer of the Ministry of Education, Kwasi Kwarteng, conceded that there had been challenges with the supply of food to schools in recent times.

He, however, noted that following the intervention of the Education Minister, schools in the region would begin receiving supplies starting today, July 12.

“There have been reports of food shortages and potential food shortages in most of the schools. I mean if you read the presser that was released by CHASS Upper west chapter, clearly, they cited a potential food shortage, and based on that the Minister of Education has had to act and intervene and as I speak with you arrangements have been made for suppliers to supply food to avert potential food shortage within the region and some schools that may have those challenges.

“So yes we do admit there could be challenges but that doesn’t mean it necessarily has to do with delays in payments, sometimes it may have to do with logistical constraints like storage facilities. But we do admit this has more to do with the delays of the payment than the suppliers not having the power or the capacity to supply,” he said.

The country has around one million public sector employees.

It comes as the island nation, home to around 22 million, faces its worst economic crisis in more than 70 years.

Sri Lanka is struggling to pay for critical imports such as food, fuel and medicine as it faces a severe shortage of foreign currencies.

Late on Monday, the government approved a proposal for public sector workers to be given leave every Friday for the next three months.

It said the decision was partly to help workers who are facing difficulties getting to work due to fuel shortages as well as to encourage them to grow fruit and vegetables to help feed themselves and their families.

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“It seems appropriate to grant government officials leave for one working day of the week and provide them with the necessary facilities to engage in agricultural activities in their backyards or elsewhere as a solution to the food shortage that is expected to occur in the future,” the government said in a statement on its online news portal.

Also on Monday, the United States said that it was ready to help Sri Lanka.

After a phone call with Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said the US “stands ready to work with Sri Lanka”.

Good call today with new Sri Lankan Prime Minister @RW_UNP Wickremesinghe. During these economically and politically challenging times, the U.S. stands ready to work with Sri Lanka, in close coordination with the International Monetary Fund and the international community.

— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) June 13, 2022

Earlier this month, Mr Wickremesinghe said the country needed at least $5bn (£4.15bn) this year to pay for essential imports.

The government is in talks over an economic bailout package, with an IMF delegation expected to arrive in the capital Colombo next Monday.

The fall in the value of the Sri Lankan rupee, rising global commodity prices and a ban chemical fertilisers – which has now been lifted – helped to push annual food price rises to more than 57% in April.

At the end of last month, the country’s Agriculture Minister Mahinda Amaraweera called on farmers to grow more rice, saying “it is clear the food situation is becoming worse”.

“We request all farmers to step into their fields in the next five to ten days and cultivate paddy [rice],” he added.

At the same time the government raised taxes to help shore up its finances.

Dr Akoto says his recent trip from Volta and Oti Regions has given him assurance which put all persons who are predicting food insecurity in the country to shame.

The 37th National Farmers’ Day has been scheduled to take place in the Central Regional Capital of Cape Coast on the first Friday of December 2021 to honour farmers and fishers for their contributions to the national development.

Addressing the gathering at the launch, he stated that the hard work of Ghanaian farmers will ensure that there is enough food security in the country, thus, refuting claims of a shortage of food by some people.

He said he is convinced and does not foresee any food shortage in Ghana after his trip to the Oti and Volta Regions of the country.

He added that organising the Farmers’ Day in the last years had been challenging and called on corporate Ghana for support but was quick to add that the National Planning Committee has been charged to change the face of the celebration this year.

The Chairman of Council of State and Paramount Chief of Asante Juabeng, Nana Otuo Serebour II, who launched that event, commended the Ministry of Food and Agriculture for the achievements chalked at the sector so far.

He added that the phenomenon of climate change, pest and diseases, inadequate finances, and the covid-19 pandemic are some of the challenges the sector and farmers are facing which need urgent attention from all.

Meanwhile, Central Regional Minister, Justina Marigold Assan, disclosed that the region is ready to host the nation, adding that the region seeks to use the opportunity to lure investors to invest in that part of the country.

Mr Yaw Frimpong Addo speaking on JoyNews on Wednesday admitted that currently there is a shortage of foodstuff on the market, however, that should not raise an alarm as this is the trend during the planting season.

“Food shortage, yes, but we don’t have a food crisis. I’m telling you that during the planting season every year, it has been like this. Just that this year because of Covid-19 and fertilizer production, everything about fertilizer (things have been intense).”

Interacting with Evans Mensah on PM Express on the topic of averting food crisis, Mr Frimpong Addo noted that despite the adverse effects of the pandemic and the low supply of fertiliser, Ghana was able to withstand the shock due to the Planting for Food and Jobs programme established by the government.

He insisted that matters of food security would have been worse and the country would have joined others seeking support if not for the programme.

“Go to our neighbouring countries and see how they are suffering under Covid-19 in agriculture. We are even fortunate and they even had to come to Ghana and take some foodstuffs away.

“We have done so well with the Planting for Food and Jobs. That has saved the situation. That is why we are talking this way. Otherwise, we would also be in the same soup as they are.”

He, therefore, urged that “let’s count our blessings and reduce this pessimistic thing about hunger.”

“We are not going to experience any hunger in the country, that I can assure you,” he stressed.

His comments come as a response to concerns raised by some experts in the agriculture industry.

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The Peasant Farmers Association has predicted a food shortage next year due to challenges with accessing fertilizers and the exportation of some food products to neighbouring countries.

Experts in the Agricultural industry have therefore advised the government to store enough food this year.

Meanwhile, the Deputy Minister for Agriculture says he is optimistic there would be good harvest this year during the harvest period.

He attributed such good fortune to the good weather the country has experienced since June this year.

“During the second half of the year, the rainfall pattern has been good. I am very sure that the farmers are going to get a good harvest. It may not be at the level of last year or two years but they are going to get a good harvest because the weather has been good.

“Because of that, I am very confident that overall, we will get a good harvest,” he stated.

Listen to the audio attached above:

According to him, the claims are false, adding that the government’s Planting for Food and Jobs programme is on course to ensure food security.

His comment comes after Mr Mahama, in an interview on Moonlite FM, said that the PFJ was started by his government has failed under the current administration.

He predicted the situation is likely to result in food shortage in 2022.

His comment comes at a time when many are concerned about the increase in prices of foodstuff.

But reacting to this on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen, he said the challenge was with maize production but it is temporal and would be resolved soon.

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He also blamed the shortage on the weather patterns the country experienced.

He noted that the drought had hiked the price of maize, explaining, however, that the price in the country as compared to that in the sub-region was still low.

“We wish to assure the general public that the country will in fact experience a bumper harvest, despite the recent droughts experienced in the early part of the year.

“Ghanaians must rest assured that the country will not face food shortage neither will it experience famine as being claimed,” he urged.

Some final year students, who spoke to JoyNews, stated that the shortage of food has worsened since May this year.

This has resulted in some students relocating from the boarding house and commuting from their homes to school for classes.

A student said: “Since we reported in May this year, it has been like this. No food, so, I complained to my father. He asked me to return home because I can’t just be starving while there is food at home. So, for me and three of my colleagues, we eat from home. I think we should attend classes from home. If there is no quality can you talk about quantity?”

“We all know there is no food on campus. Now, if we go to the dining hall like this, some will get while others will not. This started since we came to school in May this year. Even banku too, same. Seriously, they even reduced the quantity,” another student added.

A male student also told JoyNews that: “The school called us and told us that it is not their fault. If we come and some don’t get food, we should not be complaining and that we should all be managing. So, because of that, it is now first-come, first-serve. Because, if you are lucky and you get, fine if not you go back or you go home like those from Savannah Region.”

A visit to the school on August 9, by Isaac Nongya during supper, confirmed what the students had earlier communicated.

Some 20 students were seen sharing a pan of banku and okro soup. There was also groundnut soup.

Sources on campus said the situation got worse in August, due to some issues with the Ghana Buffer Stock Company.

A female food supplier explained that “there is a disparity between what buffer stock pays us and the actual market prices. Because buffer stock expects me to supply a bag of maize for the price of GH¢250 when in Tamale market, the same quantity for ready cash is GH¢350.

“So, one thing is clear, either buffer stock goes with the market price for maize or no deal because I can’t buy at GH¢350 and come and give it to you for GH¢250. How much have I lost, GHC100?”

Meanwhile, several efforts by JoyNews, including follow-ups on both school management and the Municipal and Regional Directorate of the Ghana Education Service for their responses on the subject have yielded no results.