Agricultural Economist, Professor Robert Aidoo has called for a reduction in imported food, advocating a review of the role of the National Food Buffer Stock Company.

He explained that the idea behind the Buffer Stock was to store extra food when there's a lot in the market so that when there isn't enough food, they can release it back into the market to keep prices stable.

Speaking on JoyNews’ Midday on June 5, he said “Unfortunately, I think we have misused the National Buffer Stock. The primary aim for which we set it up, I think we have abandoned it. Now it is actively supporting the school feeding programme which is okay. It has also supported other initiatives, which is fine, but maybe we need to talk to them to refocus.”

“So the next thing we have to do is to call on the managers of the economy, to manage the economy such that inflation can continue to come down faster than it is doing and again we need to monitor the exchange rate where we need to begin to support the production of food commodities locally. This over reliance on imported food it won’t help anybody.”

Economist and Political Risk Analyst, Dr Theo Acheampong, also wants the government to support farmers to pursue large-scale mechanised agriculture.

He stated that in cocoa farming, productivity levels have been very low, saying farmers need to get the right support from the government. The President of the Peasant Farmers Association, Charles Nyaaba stated that farmers used to receive support from the government.

However, he said that in 2023, after the Planting for Food and Jobs phase 2, there hasn’t been any support given to the farmers.