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Food security in Ghana came under the spotlight once again when the Minority New Patriotic Party in Parliament recently issued a Statement (the Statement) on the status of food and agriculture in Ghana. Many of the issues raised by the opposition have in the past been raised by FSG (Food Security Ghana) with the hope that other watchdogs and advocacy groups such as the opposition will take part in the debate. The first issue raised by the opposition was the poor performance of the agricultural sector with an average growth rate of 3.5% over the four years since 2009, with a growth rate of only 1.3% in 2012. This must be seen in the light of a target growth rate of at least 6% according to Food and Agricultural Sector Development Policy (FASDEP II) and the Medium Term Agriculture Sector Investment Plan (METASIP). It is also significant to note that the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) has stopped publishing agricultural facts and figures on their website - the last reported figures date back to 2009 and one can only wonder if this neglect is due to an attempt to hide the true state of food and security in Ghana. The Statement also pointed out that this slowdown in growth in the agricultural sector must impact negatively in the quest of poverty reduction and job creation in a sector that employs 4.5 million people in the rural areas and the subsequent flocking of the unemployed to metropolitan areas where employment may even be harder to find. Stagnation in growth of basic staple foods such as cereals, legumes, roots and tubers has reduced food security in the country according to the Statement. To add to the woes the Statement claims that �the large yearly fluctuations witnessed in the production of maize and rice and the sharp increase in the imports of rice from 395,400 metric tonnes in 2008 to 543,465 metric tonnes in 2011 - an increase of 37.5% in just three years - attest to the deepened food insecurity in Ghana.� The issue of rice supply and demand has been a major focus of the Government of Ghana (GoG) since 2009 with unrealistic promises of self-sufficiency in an industry plagued by problems of low yields, poor quality, lack of mechanisation and marketing deficiencies to name a few. This has led to a situation where local production has only been able to meet 30% of local demand for a very long time. According to the latest figures, those for 2009, published by MOFA local rice production could only supply 34% of local demand. Since then claims have been made of miraculous increases in local rice production, but in the absence of officially published figures those claims can not be substantiated. The validity and accuracy of agricultural statistics in Ghana has been questioned for some years now and even the GoG acknowledged this by launching a project to sanitise these statistics. The poultry industry is experiencing similar problems with a dependence on imports of 70% or more of local demand. FSG has made it clear for a number of years that the objective of becoming self-sufficient in industries such as rice and poultry is laudable. However, this can not be achieved overnight and while these industries are in a transition phase it is indeed the duty of the GoG to ensure that the supply-demand gap is bridged by means of imports. In contrast to many other countries who support consumers by keeping duties and taxes on basic foodstuff imports as low as possible the GoG has opted to impose punitive duties and taxes that has resulted in not only increasing the plight of consumers but has indeed led to the establishment of a thriving smuggling industry in Ghana. The right policy is surely to minimise the cost of basic foodstuff and to increase protection of local industries by means of higher tariffs as the local industries catch up with the supply-demand gap? In the meantime the GoG recently imposed a special import levy on the import of �agricultural chemicals, farm machinery and equipment, outboard motors, fishing nets, cutlasses and other basic farm inputs�. There is little doubt that this levy will increase the cost of farming and increase foods prices indirectly, but also increase the cost of imported basic foodstuffs directly - placing a further burden on Ghanaian consumers who are having a tough time to make ends meet. The Statement further criticised the �lack of focus of agricultural policy through a misplaced emphasis on window-dressing schemes such as the Youth in Agriculture, Block Farming and the now infamous Guinea Fowl and Afforestation projects of the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA)�. FSG has reported on these issues on more than one occasions and is convinced that the criticism by the opposition is justified and that the issues mentioned by them indeed justify further investigation and analysis. One of the most important issues raised in the Statement is the budget allocation to agriculture that is indeed a revelation and shock. Ghana and many other African countries have committed themselves to manage the budget allocation to agriculture to a level of 10% and in 2009 the then Minister in charge of MOFA claimed a 9% allocation. It now turns out that the budget allocations over the past few years were well below the agreed 10% with an allocation of 2.2% of the total budget for 2013. This compares to 3.8% in 2010, 2.7% in 2011 and 1.9% in 2012. To make matters worse the budget for agricultural research is woefully inadequate. The Statement also addressed various other issues such as agricultural inputs, mechanisation, agricultural extension services, irrigation schemes and the Buffer Stock Company - all aspects that paint a bleak picture for the food and agriculture sector in Ghana. In response to the Statement MOFA �vehemently� disagreed and said that �of the six topmost crops consumed in Ghana - maize, cassava, yam, rice, plantain cocoyam - it is only rice that is in short supply. All the others are in surplus�. FSG has repeatedly stated that MOFA�s view of food security is one-sided, namely a focus on the supply side. Food security is indeed a much wider issue that should address availability, affordability, consumer preferences and nutrition. The problems highlighted by the Statement, if unchecked, will have adverse effects on the sector in times to come. FSG has repeatedly asked if FASDEP II and METASIP are not overdue for review and if the problems cropping up in the food and agricultural sector are not because policies and plans are being prepared based on both outdated or wrong information and assumptions. FASDEP II dates back to 2007 and we are now in 2013 - six years later. In today�s upside-down world things that were relevant six years ago are surely not relevant anymore? For more on food security related articles click on the link below Food Security Ghana 20 August 2013