According to Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, the Minister for Food and Agriculture, the government has finished 80 warehouses across the country with a capacity to store up to 1,000 metric tonnes (MT) of food.
The Minister states that the warehouses are intended to guarantee the nation’s food security.
The National Food Buffer Stock Company (NAFCO), the Ghana Stock Exchange, Private Sector Organisations, and the Sector Ministry would receive the warehouses for effective operation, according to Dr. Akoto, who added they were prepared for delivery.
The Minister reaffirmed that the finished warehouses would allow farmers to keep enough food, reduce post-harvest losses, boost farmer earnings, and promote effective marketing.
The Minister also denied reports of a food scarcity in the country, saying that the food situation in the various areas provided sufficient proof. However, the increase in prices of food items was due to some outside influences, the Minister claimed.
He said that it was not government policies that were to blame for the rise in food prices, rather outside forces like the increment of imported chemicals and other forces outside their control.
“Because of Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) Programme, there are abundant of food in the country. We’re in the harvest season of maize and when you go to the savanna regions and the transitional zones such as Techiman and others, maize are in abundance, which indicates that the PFJ has really come to rescue the country from hunger,” he added.