Buffer Stock needs urgent help

The National Food Buffer Stock Company (NAFCO) was established to serve as a buffer in the event of food shortage and price volatility in Ghana. 

The wisdom in establishing it was to ensure that when there is glut during the harvest season, the company would go out into the market to mop up the excess produce, especially grains, store them in warehouses under efficient management and released into the market in the lean season as an intervention when there is shortage.

The effort is to help to stabilise prices, contain inflation, ensure guaranteed prices for farmers and to curb wastage and post-harvest losses.

This role of NAFCO is particularly crucial in the event of a disaster or calamity, where there is the urgent need for food in the midst of scarcity.

However, over the years, the company has struggled to fulfill its mandate due to inadequate resources and poor management.

In 2024, when the country was hit by a long dry spell at the beginning of the farming season, it took the ECOWAS Regional Food Security Reserves to respond to the situation by donating 500 metric tonnes of grains to the government through the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) to be distributed to farmers who were most affected.

It is in this vein that the recent request by NAFCO's Chief Executive Officer (CEO), George Abradu-Otoo, for GH¢700 million to enable the company to stock food in order to be able to carry out its functions effectively highlights an emergency that requires a crucial need for the government to prioritise food security.

The country's food security situation — as evidenced across last year’s drought spell — is precarious, and its reliance on external aid to address food shortages cannot be a sustainable intervention.

As other countries prepare for the future, Ghana cannot afford to sit idle only to fall on the provisions of other countries which are able to secure their future food needs through strategic planning and execution.

Indeed, all countries have been affected by one circumstance or another, including climate change and the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.

The net effect of those external factors are the high cost of imported food and inputs for food production, which ultimately raise the price of food on the domestic market.

This has compelled revolutionary agricultural undertakings in many jurisdictions as home-grown solutions to guard against potential food shortages.

The consequences of not addressing NAFCO's resource challenges are far-reaching. Food insecurity can have devastating effects on the most vulnerable members of society, including children, the elderly and the poor.

It can also lead to social unrest, migration and conflict.

Therefore, it is imperative that the government takes immediate action to address NAFCO's resource challenges.

This includes providing the necessary funding to enable the company to purchase excess produce from farmers, store it in warehouses and release it during the lean season.

Furthermore, the government must develop a comprehensive national food security strategy that takes into account the complex factors that affect food security.

This strategy must prioritise sustainable agricultural practices, irrigation development and rural infrastructure development.

The Daily Graphic sees NAFCO's struggles to fulfill its mandate as a symptom of a larger problem: a looming food security situation.

Indeed, NAFCO’s empty stocks paint a precarious situation of a crisis waiting to happen in the event of an emergency.

Given the government’s commitment to invest in agriculture to feed both the population and industrial concerns, it cannot allow the essential requirement of adequate food stock to escape it.

The government must take immediate action to address NAFCO's resource challenges and develop a comprehensive national food security strategy to ensure that Ghanaians have access to nutritious and affordable food. It must provide NAFCO with the necessary funding to enable the company to carry out its functions adequately.

This is as essential as any of the projects and initiatives intended to improve the lot of the country and to offer the citizenry the assurance of food security during an emergency.