The Minister for Food and Agriculture Dr Akoto Owusu Afriyie has hit back at critics who described the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) Market as not sustainable.

The Agric Ministry last month introduced the PFJ Market to sell foodstuff to civil servants at the premises of the Ministry at a cheaper cost.

The initiative was extended to other parts of the country including Kumasi, Takoradi and Cape Coast.

Many questioned the sustainability of the programme, considering the cost involved and the effects it would have on traders in the various markets.

But speaking to journalists in Parliament, the Agric Minister, Dr. Akoto Owusu Afriyie, said the initiative has come to stay.

“Anything you do in this country, you are met with scepticism, I am not a sceptic, I am somebody who believes in what I am doing so this is just the beginning.

“It is not even two weeks and look at the impact it is already making on the ordinary person and the open market that we are targeting the prices are coming down, that is all we wanted to do,” Dr Owusu Aafriyie said.

The Ministry of Food and Agriculture as part of events to celebrate this year’s National Farmers Day has extended its PFJ market to Koforidua.