Foodstuffs market at MoFA is a short-term intervention, says deputy minister
The government introduced the PFJ Market under a larger plan to influence food prices on the open market
Yaw Frimpong Addo, a deputy minister of food and agriculture, has said that the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) Market, an initiative by the ministry, is a short-term measure to cushion farmers and consumers.
The PFJ Market was introduced by the government under a larger plan to influence prices of staples on the open market by transporting foodstuffs from food-producing areas and the farmgate to the capital city, Accra, to sell at reduced prices.
Some critics have questioned how sustainable the PFJ Market initiative is, arguing that it will demotivate farmers in the hinterland.
However, speaking to the sit-in host of the Asaase Breakfast Show, Benjamin Offei-Addo, on Thursday (17 November), Frimpong Addo said: “This is a two-pronged approach: we want to save the farmer and urban dwellers.
“It is for a period. You know these crops [yam and plantain]: when they come, between now and January, they are in abundance. So, that is where we want to take the situation, not to demotivate the farmers.”
He said the government will soon assess the initiative to ascertain how sustainable it is.
Listen to Yaw Frimpong Addo in the audio clip attached below:
Listen to the full interview with the deputy minister in the video clip attached below:
Fred Dzakpata
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