Lack of safety nets hurt Ghana’s most vulnerable as economic woes deepen | Food

Accra, Ghana – Until last year, “Kofi Brokeman”, a streetside snack of roasted plantains and peanuts, was an everyday treat for many of Ghana’s 33 million people. Then prices began rising, almost doubling in some places to 5 Ghanaian cedis ($0.43 cents) per slice. So some locals jokingly rechristened it “Kofi Richman”.

But the situation is no laughing matter for Lovelace Ayittey, 59, who sells the snack on Lagos Avenue, a stretch in the wealthy East Legon enclave of Accra.

“The price of the plantain bunches has risen sharply from 10 to 50 cedis,” she told Al Jazeera. “I…