'Agric Minister turns market queen?' - Tarzan asks

Dr. Charles Wereko Brobby, Chief Policy Analyst at the Ghana Institute for Public Policy Options (GIPPO), is questioning whether the Minister of Food and Agriculture is now a market queen. His comments follow an earlier statement by the sector minister, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto when he told farmers in Sefwi Wiawso, Western North Region, that the ministry will begin selling foodstuff within its premises to serve people in Accra. He said the products will be brought from the farms to the ministry and sold to consumers at a cheaper price. "The ministry itself is going to take its own initiative. We are going to link up with the farm gate so that we make all the arrangements to ensure that we put up kiosks on our compounds at the ministry, specifically for food from here [Sefwi Wiaso] and we are going to give it a lot of publicity,” Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto said. In a post on his Facebook timeline, Tarzan, as he is known popularly wrote, "#Agric_Minister Turns MARKET QUEEN ?? #BlgTabr3!" Ghana is recognized as the nation with the biggest increases in food prices by the World Bank. With a 122% increase in food prices, the nation has achieved the toughest achievement in sub-Saharan Africa. In recent months, food costs have risen significantly since the beginning of the year in a number of nations throughout the world, primarily as a result of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. According to the World Bank, Ghana is the nation in Africa with the highest food prices. According to the World Bank's October 2022 Africa Pulse report, Ghana is the sub-Saharan African nation with the highest rate of food inflation.