The National Food Buffer Stock Company (NAFCO) needs the necessary financial assistance from the government in order to accomplish its goals, according to Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, Speaker of the House.
According to him, the company's lack of cash is one of its main problems, which is why this kind of assistance is required.
Mr. Bagbin made the call while touring the NAFCO headquarters in Accra yesterday [June 23, 2022] to familiarise himself with how the organisation operates.
No outside financing
Opening the firm available to commercial sources of money, according to the Speaker, would not be appropriate.
Financial assistance would allow the business to go out to farm gates to collect surplus food that is being wasted and support maintaining reasonable prices, he said.
Middlemen
Alhaji Hanan Abdul-Wahab, the CEO of NAFCO, claimed that intermediaries engaged in the acquisition of grains and other food products were causing fictitious food shortages in the nation.
While there was enough food in the system, he said that a small number of people were mostly responsible for driving up prices and controlling the supply of goods, allowing them to achieve inflated profits.
He attributed the troubling scenario to the government's incapacity to sufficiently purchase and stockpile food during the height of harvests at farm gate prices to assure price stabilisation.
Food is accessible, but certain intermediaries in the food grain industry have abused their position by purchasing significant quantities of goods to feign shortages in order to drive up costs, the man claimed.
reducing threat
Alhaji Abdul-Wahab was certain that the government's capacity to assist in purchasing additional food items at farm gate rates would put a stop to the problem.
Mr. Bagbin made the unexpected visit in order to gain personal knowledge of the company's situation, the difficulties affecting its efficient functioning, and the actions that needed to be done to address them.
The CEO claimed that the existence of a market encouraged farmers to produce more.
He said, however, that the government had neglected to purchase farm products in significant amounts to stock, which had made it possible for foreigners to purchase the food goods.
Only when farmers are unable to produce or when they produce but are unable to sell will there be a food scarcity.
We will produce once there is commerce, but we must address the issue of intermediaries and make every effort to deter outsiders from purchasing, he added.
Therefore, he demanded that farmers be paid fair farm gate prices in order to store enough supplies. He said that the launch of the government's Planting for Food and Jobs project will put it in a position to purchase and stockpile food for the sub-region.
He emphasised that the delay in paying caterers for the school feeding programme would then become a thing of the past as he expressed hope that NAFCO would be able to purchase more food supplies.
price constancy
Alhaji Abdul-Wahab said that buffer stock had helped stabilise the nation's stockpiles in accordance with ECOWAS criteria, but that Ghana still needed to purchase and stockpile goods to prevent foreigners from taking advantage and purchasing goods in Ghana.
He asserted that arrangements might be made to purchase products from farmers at prices above farm gate pricing.