The World Bank has released its 7th Ghana Economic Update Report, which raises concerns about poverty and food security.
Titled “Price Surge: Unravelling Inflation’s Toll on Poverty and Food Security”, the report provides estimates that nearly 850,000 people in the country were pushed into poverty in 2022 due to rising food prices.
A related issue is that food insecurity significantly increased among 7.7 million people and that food insecurity would remain elevated till the end of this year.
Since an edition of the yearly analytical report examines the country’s economic developments and prospects focusing on selected area(s) in a particular year and the report released in the following year, it means that last year’s developments are different from this year’s.
In practical terms, food prices have further increased and so we believe the number of poor people has correspondingly increased, and that can be exponentially because food prices have increased without incomes increasing.
Workers, particularly those in the public sector, wish for increased wages in spite of the increments effected in their remunerations at the beginning of this year.
For some private-sector workers, the story is a sorry one because their wages have not been increased this year or even some years now, not because their employers are mean but because they find it difficult to break even.
As for the vulnerable who eke a living on daily basis, any description of their situation now can be an understatement because certain reports have it that some of these people sometimes go to bed hungry.
The reality in this country is that food prices greatly influence the cost of living.
Today, due to high prices of food, charges for services have been increased.
In the final analysis, those in the low-income group have incomes significantly reduced in value and for that matter purchasing power.
The World Bank says the next two years would be very delicate for Ghana, and we think such a projection can come to pass if nothing is done to contain the negatives.
The situation calls for urgent action on the part of the government to adopt measures to bring down prices of food and naturally, there would be some sanity in the system.
In the circumstances, we wish to suggest that the government should seriously consider the suggestions given by the World Bank experts regarding how to address the issues of rising food prices resulting in increasing food insecurity and poverty.
For instance, the government must adopt short-term responses which should include enhanced and flexible social protection programmes to support vulnerable households.
Besides, it should adopt long-term strategies that focus on enabling farmers to adjust to global demand and market opportunities, as well as benefit from investment in agriculture, climate-smart initiatives, infrastructure, and income diversification to enhance resilience and livelihoods.
Moreover, the World Bank says support for food self-sufficiency and trade facilitation are crucial.
It is our conviction that if the government adopts the relevant measures to address the current poverty and food insecurity issues, that will help the country to avoid any challenge(s) to bring the economy back on track.
