COVID-19 Lock down: ‘No need to stock up on food, we’re not in a war’ – Agric Minister

the minster noted that the lockdown will last for only two weeks, thus stocking up food is not necessary.

COVID-19 Lock down: ‘No need to stock up on food, we’re not in a war’ – Agric Minister
The Minister of Food and Agriculture, Owusu Afriyie Akoto

The Minister of Food and Agriculture, Owusu Afriyie Akoto has urged Ghanaians not to panic as parts of the country goes into lockdown following the covid-19 outbreak.

The minister noted that, the partial lockdown announced by the government does not require Ghanaians to stock up food.

Speaking at a press briefing in Accra today [Monday], the Minister said the lockdown will last for only two weeks, thus stocking up food is not necessary.

“…There is enough food in the system, people do not need to stock up because this is not a war situation. We are talking about just two weeks and if we are successful with what we want to do, within the period of two weeks, we will be back to normal.”

“There is no need to stock up. If there was not enough in the system and we had to wait for imports then I would have said you would have to cover yourself and the family but there is absolutely no need because we have more than enough to feed the people of this country. This is only a two-week-hiatus and I do not believe it requires a behaviour of mad rush,” the Minister clarified.

 

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Interior Minister, Ambrose Dery, over the weekend expressed similar sentiments, saying the sudden rush for food items was needless.

“I have just gone around a few places today and there appears to be some misunderstanding about some of the things. The rush to buy things is totally unnecessary because the measures have made it possible that you can go to the market and buy food and that wherever food is sold would be open so the rush before the deadline is totally unnecessary and a misunderstanding.”

Most Ghanaians trooped into town to undertake certain essential services such as buying food items from and also patronize the services of the banks ahead of the two-week lockdown on Saturday.

The lockdown of parts of Accra from Monday was announced by the President in an address on Friday night.

This announcement resulted in massive human and vehicular traffic across the capital on Saturday.

Various banking halls were packed with people while ATMs in Madina had long queues as customers waited to withdraw their money.