The Minister for Food and Agriculture, Eric Opoku, has responded to the ultimatum issued by the Food and Beverages Association of Ghana (FABAG), defending the ministry’s efforts to address the ongoing tomato supply crisis.
Speaking in an interview on Adom FM’s Dwaso Nsem, Mr. Opoku criticised FABAG’s stance, suggesting the association may not be fully informed about developments in the sector.
“If FABAG were following developments in the sector, they would not have made that statement and jumped to that conclusion. We have laid a solid foundation to address the challenge,” he said.
He stressed that the ministry is actively working to resolve the crisis and should not be portrayed as inactive.
“We cannot sit down without dealing with the challenges confronting our people. It is based on these same challenges that Ghanaians gave us the mandate to lead, and we exist to solve them, and that is exactly what we are doing,” he stated.
The minister disclosed that a stakeholder meeting will be held to accelerate interventions and better manage the situation.
“Tomorrow, we will meet the necessary stakeholders to see how we can accelerate the process, manage the crisis, and double our efforts to drive the nation toward self-sufficiency,” he noted.
However, he rejected calls for immediate large-scale tomato production within 60 to 90 days, describing them as unrealistic.
“It shouldn’t be the case that when there is a shortage of tomatoes, you say we should produce them today. It is not doable, and I am surprised they are speaking this way. At least they should understand that all of us in the ministry are not fools,” he said.
Mr. Opoku stressed that agricultural production involves structured processes that cannot be rushed.
“If you want to provide boreholes across production centres, how many months will it take even to complete procurement processes?” he questioned. “You cannot simply decide to drill boreholes without going through due processes.”
He urged stakeholders and the public to be objective and factual in their commentary.
“Let’s be reasonable and factual in our arguments. You cannot expect results without going through the necessary processes,” he added.
His comments come after FABAG issued a strong ultimatum to the Ministry, demanding urgent action to resolve the tomato supply crisis and warning that failure to act could render the Ministry irrelevant.
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Source: www.myjoyonline.com