President outlines measures to tackle food glut - Cuts sod for 24-hour markets
President John Dramani Mahama has outlined a raft of measures to tackle the persistent food glut, particularly of maize and rice, to stabilise the market and protect farmers’ incomes.
To address the challenge, he said the government had allocated GH¢200 million to the National Buffer Stock Company to purchase excess maize and rice from farmers for distribution to public institutions, including secondary schools, hospitals, prisons.
Consequently, a new rice mill under construction along the Yendi Road in Tamale, as well as another planned for the Fumbisi Valley, would process locally produced rice for supply to the National Buffer Stock Company and the School Feeding Programme.
He also announced plans to establish five maize processing factories across the country to absorb and process excess maize for both local consumption and the export market.
Reset Ghana Tour
President Mahama announced these last Saturday as he began his two-day Resetting Ghana Tour of the Northern Region.
The visit was to thank the people of the region for supporting his Reset Agenda in the 2024 elections, as well as to cut sod for new projects and inspect ongoing ones.
President Mahama expressed optimism that the measures taken would significantly contribute to eliminating the recurring glut and create new economic opportunities for farmers.
He explained that last year, the government released GH¢100 million to enable the National Buffer Stock Company to purchase excess maize from farmers.
However, the company’s warehouses remain full as the country approaches another planting season, raising concerns about further accumulation of surplus produce.
24-Hour markets
As part of the tour, the President cut the sod for the construction of 24-hour model markets at Bimbilla and Kukuo in the Tamale Metropolis.
The facilities would be equipped with essential infrastructure, including storage warehouses, security posts, healthcare services and food courts to support round-the-clock operations.
President Mahama described the markets as critical hubs for economic activity and trade, adding that “the markets will strengthen the agricultural value chain by providing farmers with reliable market access, reducing post-harvest and improving incomes”.
He said the initiative formed part of a nationwide plan to establish similar markets in all 261 districts to promote continuous commercial activity.
“Everywhere we have our traditional markets, traders gather once or twice a week, but we intend to build markets that operate around the clock to stimulate economic activity.
“The plan is to establish similar markets in all the 261 districts across the country to promote continuous commercial activities,” President Mahama said.
He emphasised that effective marketing was critical to agriculture, indicating that without reliable markets, farmers would struggle to sell their produce.
Healthcare intervention
On healthcare, the President disclosed that a new catheterisation laboratory (cath lab) had been procured for the Tamale Teaching Hospital to enhance the diagnosis and treatment of heart-related conditions and reduce referrals to Accra and Kumasi.
He also clarified issues surrounding the distribution of tricycles under the Free Primary Healthcare Programme, stating that the vehicles were intended to support health workers’ mobility in rural communities, and not to serve as ambulances.
President Mahama explained that the tricycles would enable community health workers to move from one community to another for outreach services such as screening and vaccination.
Caution
The Minister of Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Ahmed Ibrahim, cautioned contractors against substandard work, warning that projects would be withdrawn from firms that failed to deliver on schedule.
President Mahama, who was accompanied by the Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, also inspected the progress of work on a 300-capacity three-storey hostel under construction at the Bimbilla EP College of Education.
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