Jun 19, 2026
The National Food Buffer Stock Company (NAFCO) and the Artisanal Palm Oil Millers and Outgrowers Association Ghana ( APOMOG) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding ( MoU) to streamline the supply of palm oil to schools under the Free SHS Programme.
Under the MoU, NAFCO will assigned the Association the responsibility to supply wholesome, quality, nutritious palm oil to second cycle institutions in a timely manner.
The arrangement is intended to ensure quality, standardization and traceability within the palm oil school supply chain.
Chief Executive Officer of NAFCO, Mr George Abradu-Otoo said the partnership is driven by the desire to ensure proper feeding of students .
An official of APOMOG, Mr Paul Amaning said with a 36,000 membership, mainly women, the partnership will ensure emplyment, income and sustainability of oil palm processors while ensuring the safety of student consumers of the product.
Jun 19, 2026
As further demonstration of our NAFCO’s resolve to assist rice farmers who are experiencibg glut, CEO, Mr George Abradu-Otoo on Monday interacted with rice farmers in the Asutuare enclave on measures to mitigate their plight.
He announced that NAFCO will in the next few days take custody of a 1000mt Warehouse at Shai Hills to facilitate the storage of rice to be purchased from the farmers by NAFCO licencsed aggregators.
The farmers were elated at the announcement.
The DEC for Shai-Osu, Hon. Ignatius Godfred Dordoe was present at the meeting.
Jun 19, 2026
The CEO of the National Food Buffer Stock Company (NAFCO), George Abradu-Otoo, says government’s decision to commit ¢300 million towards building a national grain reserve marks the beginning of a new era for food security in Ghana.
Speaking on JoyNews’ PM Express Business Edition on Thursday, he described the intervention as unprecedented and a major policy shift, even though the amount falls far short of what is required to make a significant impact.
“Last year, Minister of Finance Dr Ato Forson announced that they were giving us further ¢200 million to continue the good work that we were doing, so in other words, so far we had only ¢300 million,” he said.
Mr Abradu-Otoo explained that the resources available to the Buffer Stock Company remain inadequate for large-scale grain purchases aimed at stabilising prices and protecting farmers from post-harvest losses.
“If we need to do proper meaningful mopping up of excess grains, we need no less than ¢1.5 billion, so you can imagine what ¢300 million has done,” he noted.
Despite the funding gap, he insisted the allocation should be viewed as an important first step.
“But it’s a good beginning because it hasn’t been done before. That’s where I draw my comfort from,” he said.
According to him, the significance of the initiative lies not only in the money committed but in government’s recognition of the need for a strategic national food reserve.
“It’s a good beginning for the government to even think in the first place that we need to have a national food reserve,” he stressed.
Mr Abradu-Otoo revealed that Ghana has long been an outlier within the West African sub-region for lacking a formal food reserve system.
“Because if you take the West African sub-region, Ghana is the only country that did not have a food reserve, can you believe that?” he said.
He added that even countries facing security and economic challenges have maintained grain reserves to cushion their populations against supply disruptions and food shortages.
“Interesting, we can also have Mali, etc, have a national food reserve,” he observed.
The Buffer Stock CEO believes that establishing a grain reserve will strengthen Ghana’s ability to respond to food production shocks, support farmers by purchasing surplus harvests, and improve national food security over the long term.
For him, the challenge now is to build on the initial investment and mobilise the additional resources needed to expand grain purchases to meaningful levels.
Jun 19, 2026
For years, Ghana stood out in West Africa for the wrong reason. It had no national food reserve system, even as neighbouring countries had already established theirs.
That revelation came from the CEO of the National Food Buffer Stock Company, George Abradu-Otoo, who described government’s recent efforts to build food reserves as a major policy shift despite severe funding constraints.
Speaking on JoyNews’ PM Express Business Edition on Thursday, Mr Abradu-Otoo said the company has so far received only ₵300 million for grain purchases, far below what is required to undertake a meaningful intervention.
“Last year, Minister of Finance Dr Ato Forson announced that they were giving us further ₵200 million to continue the good work that we were doing, so in other words, so far we had only ₵300 million,” he said.
According to him, the amount is insufficient for the scale of work expected from the Buffer Stock Company.
“If we need to do proper meaningful mopping up of excess grains, we need no less than ₵1.5 billion, so you can imagine what ₵300 million has done,” he stated.
Despite the shortfall, Mr Abradu-Otoo insisted the allocation represents an important first step toward establishing a national food reserve system.
“But it’s a good beginning because it hasn’t been done before. That’s where I draw my comfort from,” he said.
He noted that successive governments had never seriously pursued maintaining strategic food reserves, making the current initiative significant.
“It’s a good beginning for the government to even think in the first place that we need to have a national food reserve,” he added.
Mr Abradu-Otoo said Ghana’s absence from the list of countries with food reserves was particularly striking given developments elsewhere in the sub-region.
“Because if you take the West African sub-region, Ghana is the only country that did not have a food reserve, can you believe that?” he said.
He pointed to neighbouring countries that had already established such systems.
The Buffer Stock CEO’s comments come as government seeks to strengthen food security and stabilise prices by purchasing excess grains from farmers and storing them for future use.
However, his remarks suggest that achieving that objective on a meaningful scale will require substantially higher investments than those committed so far.
For now, Mr Abradu-Otoo believes the most important breakthrough is that Ghana has finally begun taking steps toward building a strategic food reserve, a policy many of its West African neighbours embraced years ago.
Jun 19, 2026
Ghana needs at least ¢1.5 billion to build a meaningful national food reserve system, far above the ¢300 million currently available to the National Food Buffer Stock Company, its CEO, George Abradu-Otoo, has said.
Speaking on JoyNews’ PM Express Business Edition on Thursday, he said the amount allocated so far is inadequate for large-scale purchases of surplus grains from farmers.
“Last year, Minister of Finance Dr Ato Forson announced that they were giving us further ¢200 million to continue the good work that we were doing, so in other words, so far we had only ¢300 million,” Mr Abradu-Otoo said.
He explained that while the funding has enabled the company to begin building reserves, it falls far short of what is required to make a real impact.
“If we need to do proper meaningful mopping up of excess grains, we need no less than ¢1.5 billion, so you can imagine what ¢300 million has done,” he stated.
Mr Abradu-Otoo, however, described the government’s intervention as an important first step towards strengthening the country’s food security system.“But it’s a good beginning because it hasn’t been done before. That’s where I draw my comfort from,” he said.
According to him, the government’s decision to prioritise establishing food reserves marks a significant policy shift.
“It’s a good beginning for the government to even think in the first place that we need to have a national food reserve,” he noted.
