Ghanaians can rest assured that the country will not be affected by the current food crisis that has hit parts of the world including next door neighbours, Cote d’Ivoire and Togo. Cameroun, Egypt and Burkina Faso have all gone through social unrests as a result of the effect of the crisis on their people. In Cote d'Ivoire for instance, one person died and 10 others were injured in riots over the high cost of food. Global food prices have skyrocketed to an all time high in the last couple of months and it is likely to remain so for the next two years, according to the World Food Programme (WFP) of the UN. The World Bank has also estimated that 33 countries of the world face potential social unrest because of rising food and energy prices. But Ghana’s Food and Agriculture Minister, Mr. Ernest Akobuor Debrah, reassures Ghanaians that, it is well with us. He said there is no cause for alarm. He told Ghanaians that Ghana has enough food surpluses to serve as a buffer. He said the supplies in stock can last till the next harvest season, emphasizing that Ghana can even export food to other countries. Speaking to Joy News’ Akwasi Sarpong , Tuesday April 15, 2008, from Akosombo, where ministers of state are on a retreat with the President, he said “we have enough of all major food crops available.” According to the minister, the country has enough surpluses of cassava, yam, cocoyam, maize and plantain. He however said there are shortfalls in the availability of sorghum, millet and rice. He revealed that the total supply of maize available for consumption is 1.038 million metric tonnes as against national demand which is estimated at 998,000, leaving the country with a surplus of 38,000 metric tones. He said of the total supply of 8.17 million metric tonnes of cassava available, the country’s demand is 3.4 million metric tonnes, leaving a surplus of 4.6 million metric tonnes. Mr. Debrah said Ghana has 3.9 million metric tonnes of yam out of which only 955,000 metric tonnes will be consumed by Ghanaians, leaving a surplus of 2.9 million metric tonnes. He said the country has 3.0 million metric tonnes of plantain in store, and would consume only 1.9 million metric tonnes, leaving a surplus of 1.1 million metric tonnes. Cocoyam, he said we have 1.5 million metric tonnes in store and we would consume 1.3 million metric tonnes and have a surplus of 219, 000 metric tonnes. The shortfall in food supply, the minister revealed is in the production of milllet, the country produces 90,000 metric tonnes, and therefore, with a demand of 145,000 metric tonnes, there is a shortfall of 55,000 metric tonnes. There is also a shortfall in the production of sorghum. “we have a demand of 127,000 metric tonnes, but supply is 230,000 metric tonnes, and so we have a deficit of 106,000 metric tonnes.” He assured the country that the Brong Ahafo region has surpluses in almost all the major food crops, but the Greater Accra region on the other hand, has deficits in all the major food crops. He argued that what is leading to rise in food prices in some parts of the country are transportation costs involved in moving food from areas where there are surpluses to areas where they are experiencing deficits, and trading activities. He therefore assured the country that “there is no cause for alarm, because we have enough food to feed us until the next harvest season.” The next harvest season is around August 2008. He told Joy News that Ghana should take advantage of the global rise in food prices and produce more for export. “We have got the land, we have the farmers, we need to support them so that we can take advantage of the situation and move into exporting non-traditional food to other countries. Ghana can be a big maize exporter,” he said. Rising global food prices is raising concerns, especially for poor countries of the world. The President of the World Bank, Robert Zoellick has said that the top priority in addressing the challenge was to give the UN World Food Programme an extra $500m for emergency food aid. Meanwhile, US President George W. Bush has ordered the release of $200m in emergency aid to alleviate food shortages in Africa and other parts of the world. By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi