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Claim: The Minister for Food and Agriculture, Eric Opoku, has claimed that food inflation in 2016 was 8%.
Verdict: False. Data from the December 2016 Consumer Price Index from the Ghana Statistical Service shows that food inflation was 9.7%, not 8%.
Full Text
The Minister for Food and Agriculture, Eric Opoku, claimed that food inflation in 2016 was 8%. He made this statement during his vetting before Parliament’s Appointments Committee. His claim can be found between 51 minutes, 54 seconds, 52 minutes, and 01 seconds of a video published on GhanaWeb’s YouTube account.
“Let it be recorded here today, in 2016, when the agriculture growth rate was 2.9% and food inflation was 8%.”
The vetting session was broadcast live nationwide. The minister’s statement was in response to how he intends to improve agriculture in Ghana, drawing from the performance of their administration in 2016.
This claim contains two key assertions:
- The agricultural growth rate in 2016 was 2.9%.
- Food inflation in 2016 was 8%.
DUBAWA, however, looked into these claims to determine their accuracy and to promote truth in public discourse.
Verification
The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) is the official institution responsible for publishing inflation data in Ghana. Food inflation is a component of overall inflation, which measures the general increase in the prices of goods and services over time. When food inflation rises, it means food prices are increasing significantly, impacting the overall inflation rate.
Was agricultural growth 2.9% in 2016?
According to data from the Ghana Statistical Service, the agricultural sector recorded a growth rate of 3% in 2016. However, the 2018 Budget Statement and Economic Policy from the Ministry of Finance (Appendix, Page 1) indicate that agricultural growth in
2016 was 2.9%. This confirms the minister’s claim.
Was food inflation 8% in 2016?
The minister’s claim about food inflation is inaccurate. Data from the Consumer Price Index from the Ghana Statistical Service for December 2016, published in January 2017, shows that food inflation was 9.7%, not 8%. This can be found on page 6 of the document.
Source: Ghana Statistical Service
Conclusion
The claim that the agricultural growth rate in 2016 was 2.9% is accurate. However, the claim that food inflation was 8% is false. Official data from the Ghana Statistical Service places it at 9.7%.
