Amid worries over insufficient financing and poor storage facilities, the Parliament’s Agric Committee has promised to look into issues at the National Food Buffer Stock Company (NAFCO).
In an interview with Citi FM on Wednesday, March 19, 2025, Dr. Godfred Seidu Jasaw, the Chairman of the Agric Committee, said that he had visited NAFCO’s offices and met with Mr. Otu, the organization’s new CEO, to talk about the problems facing the company.
He said that NAFCO has suffered with persistent underfunding and needs around GHS 700 million to function efficiently.
He said that for almost ten years, the corporation has prioritized keeping imported food above buying and conserving excess product from nearby farmers, and that many of its warehouses do not adhere to minimal food storage regulations.
In recent years, Dr. Jasaw has criticized NAFCO’s administration, claiming that it has failed to carry out its purpose.
He clarified that by buying excess crops from farmers at predetermined rates, keeping them, and releasing them into the market as required, the buffer stock system was initially intended to stabilize food prices. However, this is no longer effective due to inadequate planning and bad administration.
The buffer stock system has not been given priority by the Ministry of Agriculture in recent years. To remain viable, NAFCO was forced to rely on its own projects, such the school feeding program. He declared, “This is a total departure from its intended purpose.”
Dr. Jasaw promised that important authorities, such as those from the Ministry of Agriculture and NAFCO, will be called by the Agric Committee to explain the company’s activities.
He emphasized that while local farmers are having difficulty selling their goods, Ghana cannot continue to rely on food imports.
He demanded that NAFCO be reorganized in order to fulfill its primary goals of price stability and food security.
“NAFCO has to be redesigned in order to operate efficiently. We will spend more on food imports rather than promoting domestic production if we keep going in this direction,” he said.
Dr. Jasaw went on to say that the Agric Committee will advocate for better storage facilities, more local food purchases, and a long-term plan to ensure Ghana’s food supply, as well as more accountability in the administration of buffer stock monies.
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