Agric Minister Exposed For ‘Cheap Propaganda’ On Ghana’s Soya Bean Production Figures

• MFWA's Sulemana Braimah has hit hard at the minister of agric for presenting false information about Ghana's soya bean production
• Mr Braimah suggests that figures presented by the minister are contrary to the Ministry of Aric's own record for soya bean production in Ghana
• He wondered whether the desire to misinform the investors or cheap propaganda drove the minister to make the false claims

Executive Director for the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), Sulemana Braimah, has accused the agriculture minister of dabbling in cheap propaganda about Ghana’s soya bean production record.

According to the outspoken media rights campaigner, the minister, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, presented soya production figures for Ghana that sought to demean the previous government’s performance.

In a post on Facebook, Mr Braimah said the minister told former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and investors that before 2017 – during the administration of John Mahama – Ghana was producing less than 100,000 tonnes of soya bean.

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But posting the Ministry of Agriculture’s soya bean record since 2008, Mr Braimah said Dr Afriyie Akoto lied because the production figure is 143,217 for 2016 and 170,490 for 2017.

“Why will the minister claim that production was less than 100,000 before 2017 when the figure for 2011 was 165,000 and 143,000 in 2016? When did we produce more than 250,000?? Misinformation or cheap propaganda for public applause?” he quizzed.

Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, in February this year, told investors at a breakfast meeting in Accra that food production has improved tremendously under his stewardship.

At the event organised by the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change is quoted as having made the following remarks:

“Take soybean for example, before 2017 we were producing less than 100,000 tonnes but, today we are more than quarter of a million. We have quadrupled our rice production, and we are a net exporter of maise to neighbouring countries.”

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Agric Sector Players Slam Minister Afriyie Akoto For ‘Unfounded’ Comments During Interview

Key players in the agriculture sector have released a joint statement to slam Food and Agriculture Minister, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, for making dishonest and misleading utterances during a recent interview.

The Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana (PFAG), Chamber of Agribusiness Ghana (CAG), the General Agricultural Workers Union (GAWU), the Rice Millers Association of Ghana (RMAG), and Food Sovereignty Ghana (FSG) say they are “appalled and disappointed” by comments by the Minister during an interview on the Citi Breakfast Show on Wednesday, March 16, 2022.

In a press statement sighted by YEN.com.gh, the players in the agric value chain accused the minister for providing evasive and unaccountable responses about the sector that clearly “demonstrated high levels of intolerance, and an outright disrespect to the living experiences of farmers and other actors in the sector.”

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Source: YEN.com.gh