Vast Agric Potential Yet Rising Food Prices – Economist Weighs in on Ghana’s Food Inflation Irony

Economist at the University of Ghana, Prof. Peter Quartey finds it very ironic that a country with great prowess in agriculture is grappling with alarming levels of food inflation.

Prof. Peter Quartey finds it baffling and cannot fathom why food inflation will be the main driver of high inflation even in some regions where agriculture and food production is their mainstay.

The worry of the economist emanates from the latest inflation data published by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS). Although there was a marginal decline in headline inflation from 23.8% in December 2024 to 23.5% in January 2025, the food inflation component rather saw an increase.

Food inflation climbed to 28.3% in January 2025 up from 27.8% in December 2024 while non-food inflation rather saw a decline.

This trend, the economist finds very unacceptable and worrying. In his view, how can a country with vast arable land and agriculture as the backbone of the economy grapple with a situation where citizens suffer persistent increases in food prices?

Prof. Quartey observes that the unacceptable situation is borne out of the over-reliance on rainfall for agriculture, a situation he describes as “rain-fed agriculture.”

“Food inflation is one of the major drivers because of drought, because of our reliance on rainfall agriculture. We’ve seen some limited rainfall in the past couple of months, and therefore, that is what is driving the food inflation,” he said in an interview monitored by The High Street Journal.

He added, “But what is more worrying is the fact of food inflation in the regions where you expect food, I mean, food production is their main activity, yet they are reporting very high inflation in northern parts of the countries.”

The economist maintains that Ghana’s over-reliance on small-scale farming and fertilizer subsidies is insufficient to solve food inflation.

Prof. Quartey advocates for large-scale commercial farming supported by modern irrigation systems, and strong value chains to ensure food security.

These measures, the economist is convinced if implemented properly, will leverage the already existing agricultural resources and could significantly reduce food inflation, lower import dependency, and make Ghana self-sufficient in food production. 

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