We must address the grain glut challenge
About two weeks ago, the Majority Leader, Mahama Ayariga, hinted that President John Mahama had directed the Ministry of Finance to release money to the Buffer Stock Company to buy bumper harvests from farmers.
That was after the MP for Nalerigu-Gambaga, Nurideen Muhammed, requested that the Minister of Agriculture be brought to the House to respond to issues of glut and how the government was dealing with them.
Nurideen Muhammed was of the view that programmes such as the Planting for Food and Jobs (P4FJ) were now yielding results, adding that the warehouses built by the previous government could now be put to good use.
Around the same time, the Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana (PFAG), in a statement, expressed concern over a grain glut that was causing severe hardship for farmers across the country.
The farmers said about 200,000 metric tonnes of paddy rice and maize from the last farming season remained unsold and urged the government to act quickly to save their livelihoods.
The glut on farms had resulted in farmers fearing that their farms would be invaded by birds because of unharvested grain; disappointment by other farmers who had no rewards or earnings for their labour, and the near bankruptcy for many others who had gone in for loans.
The PFAG, in its statement, commended the Ministry of Agriculture for the release of GHc100 million through the National Food Buffer Stock Company to purchase excess grain and set minimum guaranteed prices and added that while it was not an ideal situation, the move was better than alternatives by middlemen.
While the Daily Graphic commends the government for the initial steps taken to resolve the challenge, we also urge it to enhance its administration and governance of the agricultural value chain.
The chain of production (cultivation of crops and the rearing of livestock), processing, distribution and marketing needs to be strengthened.
It is heartening that the government in the 2026 Budget and Economic Policy recognises that “agriculture remains the heartbeat of Ghana’s economy,” so that the vision is to make the sector “commercial, modern, mechanised, market-driven and youth and women-led”.
It is also encouraging that, in addition to the Agriculture Ministry’s release of GH¢100 million in the budget, the President has directed the release of GH¢200 million to the National Food Buffer Stock Company to purchase and store the excess food to protect the investment and income of farmers.
“Mr Speaker, President Mahama has also directed all schools, from basic to secondary, to purchase rice, maize, chicken and eggs produced in Ghana only.”
This statement, also in the budget, would, indeed, be the breakthrough for our farmers.
Beyond the budget, the Daily Graphic would plead with duty bearers to ensure that the good initiatives detailed would be implemented.
We would also urge the monitoring of the grains production sector, too, for proactive measures to end systemic challenges. Indeed, the government, with all the tools and resources, must not sit to be told by the peasant farmers of a glut before acting.
Agricultural field officers must be picking up such information for the government to act before it becomes the subject matter of a press release.
The Daily Graphic hopes that the money directed to be used to purchase excess grain would be used for exactly that, for the benefit of farmers, as well as students and pupils who are the ultimate beneficiaries.
We also hope that these challenges will be addressed, as they seem to be recurring every year.
Our leaders and policymakers, especially in the agricultural sector, must understand these challenges to provide appropriate interventions and solutions for the development of our country.
