Ghanaians scramble for affordable foodstuff at MoFA

There was a huge scramble at the premises of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) when eager shoppers thronged the premises of the Planting for Food and Jobs Market to procure food items.

The patrons who were in their hundreds gave the Ministry officials a hard time, as they surrounded the tables which had been set up as vending stations.

Food inflation for October increased to 43.7% from the previous month’s food inflation of 37. 8% with the month-on-month food inflation being 3.2%.

Inflation for locally produced items was 39.1%, while inflation for imported items stood at 43.7%.

As at 12 noon, there were hardly any goods on sales with patrons clamouring for information from the sellers or jostling to get ahead of one another in the queues, while the more patient ones stood aside to stare at the chaotic spectacle.

Press Secretary to the Food and Agriculture Minister, Issah Alhassan, described the high patronage as “a rational response from Ghanaians to the low prices at PFJ market.

“This should send a message to the people at the open market to price their goods reasonably to attract patrons.”

He urged patrons to exercise patience as the Ministry was putting in place measures to ensure that every person comes to the PFJ Market gets at least a bag of rice to take home.

He, however gave the assurance that there were more than enough supplies in the Ministry’s secure stores to take care of the high demand.

Some of the items on sale yesterday were bags of rice, which were going for between GH¢70 for a 5kg bag and GH¢350 for a 25kg, while a 10kg bag of brown rice was going for GH¢90.

Other items on sale yesterday were tubers of yam, bunches of plantain, as well as vegetables like carrots and cabbages, and cooking oil.

A shopper who gave her name as Dora, and had come  all the way from Teshie, told this paper in an interview that she had spent about GH¢1,000 shopping for herself and her colleagues.

She commended the Ministry for the idea of the PFJ market, stating that she had managed to save about GH¢600 shopping at the Ministry than she would have at the open market.

Unfortunately, a lot of the other patrons including Samuel Tetteh who had come from Dansoman, had disappointing tales to tell, as the produce had run out before they even got to the Ministry’s premises.