By: Franklin ASARE-DONKOH
Ghana’s Minister of Finance, Dr Amin Adam, fears the country’s economic trajectory could be in jeopardy due to the ongoing drought, which has affected food production and the agricultural sector in general in the Northern regions and some other parts in the southern regions.
Information emanating from Northern Ghana shows that the region is currently grappling with a severe drought that has sparked widespread concerns about food security and the livelihood of thousands of farmers.
The region has been without rain for over two months, with the extended dry spell stunting crop growth and leaving farmers with little hope for a successful harvest.
The Finance Minister addressing journalists at a press conference in Accra on Monday, August 26, 2024, highlighted the challenges farmers are facing due to the drought.
He noted that individuals like himself, involved in managing the economy, are also significantly impacted by the drought.
Dr Amin Adam emphasised that their hopes of achieving higher economic growth have been dashed by the drought.
“Investments have been lost, and even with the rains that we’re experiencing now, the rains may not be enough to support maturity of crops. Usually, in the Northern part of Ghana, by this time, new maize is on the market. If we go to the markets in Tamale, you will not find a bag of maize, prices are also going up.
And so, for those of us in charge of the management of the economy, we’re directly affected from different perspectives.
Number one: Our focus as a government (after) having stabilised the economy, and we’re seeing the micro fundamentals improving day by day. We decided that we would focus on economic growth and we saw the numbers.
In the year, 2023 ending, we had 2.9% economic growth, the first quarter of this year, achieving 4.7% growth.
We were expecting that this trend will continue till the end of the year. But we realised that one of our growth poles, if you like one of the major contributors to our growth, which is agriculture is now facing challenges,” Dr Amin Adam stated.
According to him, what the situation simply means is that Ghana’s economic growth trajectory is in danger. “Our economic growth is in danger. We also look at it from the perspective of pricing, we have seen it for some time now that inflation (is) going down from about 54% inflation by the end of 2022 to about 20% inflation in June this year (2024),” he reiterated.
Farmers have recorded huge losses with staples such as rice, maize, groundnuts, and millet withering due to the lack of rainfall.
The prolonged drought has led to a sharp drop in food production, raising alarms about a potential food shortage and a looming famine.
