AD 2024: No food in Ghana is a metaphor for the continuous hardened economic life in Ghana. In recent times, prices of food and particularly food items have shot rocket high causing excruciating pain and hardship in the standard of living.
When leadership blames the situation on external forces like the war between Russia and Ukraine, they have enough to over feed their people and export for foreign exchange. Unashamedly, our President had a cup in hand begging the war country to extend help to Ghana. This is an economic irony in highest order of leadership paralysis.
Vast lands, fertile soil, abundant rain, and ready labour, yet a dead-at-birth policy (Planting for Food and Jobs) embedded in corruption is the reason why Ghana cannot feed itself in a time like this. The precarious situation should be a cause for worry for the government, yet nothing in its posture suggests the slightest concern. Foreign exchange for import has taken a nose dive making imported food items not affordable. Sadly, the national health is in jeopardy to consuming imported GMO foods when God in His infinite wisdom has blessed our land to grow organic foods.
What is the essence of been able to feed yourself yesterday but not able to feed yourself today? As difficult as it is at sometimes, it is not just about the nonavailability of purchasing power but the food items are not available on the market. A further cause for concern is the closure of the fishing season. In effect we are suffering all around in scarcity of fish and crop farming.
Politics as usual, not good governance is the government’s preoccupation. When the basic fundamental requirements for life are gravely broken, chaos becomes the byproduct as evidenced in Kenya. When the people are deprived of the benefits of the necessary requirements of good governance namely food, clothing and shelter they become agitated and when it exceeds their level of tolerance, chaos becomes the end result.
In Ghana today, what is supposed to be basic food for the poor has become a luxury for a middle-income family. The portions of ingredients for cooking have become so disproportionate that a balanced diet has become an aspiration. Basic food items like maize, gari, plantain, cocoyam, rice, sugar, flour, onion, oil, egg, tomatoes, pepper, fish, meat but to mention a few requires a lot of money to have them in right quantities to cook a well-balanced diet. The talk of balance diet for healthy living is gradually vanishing from nutritional discussions. Its just a matter of ‘food for the belly’.
Suffering has become the lot of many living in Ghana. Prices of basic food items, which are supposed to be produced in Ghana, are either not affordable or not available on the market as expected. Many food items are imported from neighbouring countries to which we should be exporting. A cogent evaluation of leadership paralysis is when a country’s priorities are misplaced. Populism is riding high while common sense is put to sleep.
Wonder why Ghana’s agriculture industry is where it is today? Look no further, Planting for Food and Jobs was monstrous deceptive, calculated, and orchestrated to make the ‘master’ rich while the ‘ordinary’ suffer. The evidence todays justify a conclusion that Planting for Food and Jobs is a policy not meant to achieve its purpose. No wonder government no longer talks about it.
The result of Planting for Food and Jobs bears eloquent testimony in the scarcity of basic food items which needs no explanation to anyone living in Ghana today. Contrary to the truth and reality, the ‘devil’ in the government throws a few shekels to some of the most suffering people to defend it for palpable political gains at the detriment of the majority of the people. Using the people against the people is a master mind game played by crooked leadership.
Planting for Food and Jobs is nothing but an avenue for thievery, lack of transparency, and lack of leadership, which is manifested in the market. The adage that ‘a bird produces its kind’ is once again exhibited. A corrupt government with a corrupt policy will only produce economic hardship.
The unapologetic nature of this government to accept responsibility for the gargantuan failure makes it clear that they do not care about the people. After all, their term of office will soon be over. History will surely remember them, and the voluminous commentary will recount their irresponsibility when they had the opportunity. Simply put, they couldn’t produce basic food items to feed the nation.
Food insecurity is a threat to life. When the lives of people are threatened, they can explode, and the consequences will have a telling effect. When a President is sleeping and travelling more than sitting up, thinking, and working, anger and hunger become the definitive default of the citizenry.
Questions to the government and Ghanaians for decision making:
- What was the original aim of Planting for Food and Jobs?
- Does the government accept its failure in Planting for Food and Jobs?
- What is your response to the food situation in Ghana?
- How is the food situation affecting families?
- What are your suggestions for improvement?
The attitude of this government is synonymous with Abraham Lincoln’s dictum, “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.” In power they have more than enough while the people suffer. Heaps of failure; left, right and centre yet they are not moved into correction.
Bob Nester Marley and the Wailers puts it so succinctly in his song titled ‘‘Them Belly Full (but we hungry)’’ and here I will select some portions of the lyrics relevant to the subject matter:
Them belly full, but we’re hungry
A hungry mob is a angry mob
A rain a-fall, but the dirt, it tough
A pot a cook but the food nah nuff
You got to know that everything got time and a season
Don’t let the pain kill you away from your wishes
Depression is a jailer
You don’t wanna be his victim
In this spiritual boss
I sent the whole bar moving
How your belly feel when whole pot boilin’ over?
Don’t take no hungry, man-a angry man
There’s no pushover
‘Cause when you boil them up and strip them off
A different cover
But you see
We just a-go keep on skanking on
Cost of living get so high
Rich and poor, they start to cry
Now the week must get strong
They say, ‘‘Oh! What a tribulation.
