Former Minister of Food and Agriculture Dr Akoto Afriyie delivering an address at the Ministry of Information in Accra. Source: Ministry of Information.

Claim: Former Minister of Food and Agriculture Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto has claimed that agricultural growth for 2016 was 1.2%.

Verdict: False. Data from the Ghana Statistical Service and the Ministry of Finance reveal that agricultural growth for 2016 was 2.9% and 3.0% respectively.

Full Text

Former Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto who served as head of the agricultural sector from 2017 to January 2023, has on countless occasions asserted that his tenure in office witnessed unparalleled achievements, particularly marked by the most significant growth in the agricultural sector within the fourth republic. Touting his accomplishments, Dr Akoto, on August 17, 2023, claimed that the agricultural growth rate in 2016 was a mere 1.2%.

“In the year 2021, the rate of growth of the agricultural sector was 8.4%. This is the highest ever in the fourth republic. And taking it from 1.2% in 2016 and bringing it all the way to 8.4% when the AU target average is 6%,” Dr Akoti said.

This claim was made during an interview conducted on Joy News’ AM show on August 17, 2023. The interview was published on Joy News’ YouTube platform, having garnered over 600 views at the time of writing this response. It can be found from 20:51- 21:14 of the video.

Verification

DUBAWA’s initial research targeted data sourced from government agencies, which included the Ministry of Finance (MoF) and the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS).

According to figures provided by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), the agriculture growth rate for the year 2016 stood at 3%.

Referencing the Ministry of Finance’s 2018 Budget Statement and Economic Policy, the appendix on page 1 revealed the agricultural growth rates spanning 2012 to 2016, which were recorded as 2.3%, 5.7%, 4.6%, 2.8%, and 2.9%, respectively. Based on this data from the finance ministry, there isn’t any instance where the agricultural growth rate was documented as 1.2%.