Claim: The Chief Executive Officer of the Microfinance and Small Loan Centre (MASLOC) Abibata Zakaria, has claimed that before the New Patriotic Party (NPP) came into power in 2017, agricultural growth was negative.
Verdict: False. Data from the Ministry of Finance and the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) reveals that agricultural growth was not negative when the New Patriotic Party came into government in 2017. Both data sources reveal positive growth in the sector.
Full Text
The Chief Executive Officer of the Microfinance and Small Loan Centre (MASLOC), Abibata Zakaria, has claimed that the agricultural growth before it came into power in 2017 was negative. He made this claim during the discussion segment on Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana on Monday, July 10, 2023.
In her claim, she said, “Before we came into power in 2017, did you know the growth rate in Agriculture? The growth rate of Agriculture was in the negative. As we speak now are we not in the positive? That is a plus for the government.”
This claim can be found from 1:55-52 to 1:56-05 of the video published on YouTube. It has garnered over 7,000 views on YouTube.
Verification
The claim by the MASLOC boss Abibata Zakaria means that before the NPP came into office in 2017, the agricultural sector growth in 2016 recorded negative growth.
In view of this, DUBAWA first surfed through data from the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS). The service is the nationally recognised agency mandated to produce official national statistics. We discovered that the agricultural sector’s growth in 2016 was not in the negative. The sector grew by 3.0% in 2016. This contradicts what the Chief Executive Officer of MASLOC, Abibata Zakaria, claimed.
To further investigate the claim, we provided data on the agricultural growth from 2012 when Former President Mahama came into office. We sourced data from both the Ghana Statistical Service and the Ministry of Finance.
Our research found that agricultural growth never went negative throughout Mr Mahama’s tenure from 2012 to 2016. Besides, in 2016, the agricultural sector recorded positive growth.
From the Rebased 2016 Annual Gross Domestic Product from the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), the agricultural growth from 2012 to 2015 was 2.3%, 5.7%, 4.6%, 2.8%, and 3.0%, respectively.
| AGRICULTURAL GROWTH (2012-2016) | ||
| YEAR | Ministry of Finance | GSS |
| 2012 | 2.3% | 2.3% |
| 2013 | 5.7% | 5.7% |
| 2014 | 4.6% | 4.6% |
| 2015 | 2.8% | 2.8% |
| 2016 | 2.9% | 3.0% (Revised) |
For the Ministry of Finance, on the appendix’s page 1 of the 2018 Budget Statement and Economic Policy, agricultural growth from 2012 to 2016 was 2.3%, 5.7%, 4.6%, 2.8%, and 2.9%, respectively.
Conclusion
The claim by Abibata Zakaria that agriculture growth before the NPP came into government in 2017 was in the negative is false.
