Accra-Ghana, Nov. 17, GNA - More public servants and Accra residents on Wednesday besieged the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) market at the Ministry of Food and Agriculture in a mad rush for locally produced rice.
The PFJ market, a pilot retailing exercise by the Ministry introduced two brands of local rice that are cheaper than other brands on the market.
Whilst a five-kilogram and a 25kilogram bag of the Parboiled Royal Farmers cost Gh¢ 66 and Gh¢ 330 respectively, the 4.5kg and 22.5Kg of Mama Gold rice went for Gh¢ 70 and Gh¢ 350 apiece.
Comparatively, the regular market prices hovered around Gh¢ 80 and Ghc100 for a 5kg bag of rice and over Gh¢450 for a 25kg bag.
As distributors offloaded hundreds of bags of locally grown rice at the PFJ market scores of Ghanaians from all works of life thronged the Ministry to buy the rice.
However, many of those who thronged the market were believed to be traders, raising fears that they may resell the rice at exorbitant prices.
Similarly, close to 1500 bunches of plantain were sold to the public at Tudu, in the Central Business District of Accra on Wednesday 16.
Mr Alhassan Issah, Press Secretary to Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, Minister for Food and Agriculture, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, said, the agitation between the workers and market women was a bit worrying though expected.
“We anticipated to have an overflow and as rational people if you hear of any cheaper price anywhere you want to go and get the product,” he said.
He said though the market was started on a pilot basis for civil servants, the Ministry had thought of expanding it, and that was the reason the market was taken to Tudu.
From Monday, November 14, some 1500 bunches of plantain and 8000 tubers of yam have been sold. 500 bags of local rice were also sold on Tuesday.
The Ministry would on Thursday sell bags of rice and plantain at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle,
It said it would collaborate with the Metropolitan, Municipal and Districts Assemblies to expand the exercise to other parts of the city.
