Aug 14, 2026
Chief Executive Officer of NAFCO, George Abradu-Otoo received a delegation from the Ghana – Nebraska Agribusiness Growth and Trade Relations Chamber at our Head Office in Accra.
The delegation included Co-founders; Nana Akyaa Akosa and Senator Ken Schilz.
Discussions centered on partnerships aimed at reducing post-harvest losses and modernizing Ghana’s food storage infrastructure.
Mr. George Abradu-Otoo highlighted the importance of a sustained investment in strengthening NAFCO’s capacity to support local farmers and reduce post-harvest losses.
Mr. Abradu-Otoo added that the expansion of facilities and deployment of digital technology could open future opportunities for NAFCO in perishable goods storage.
Nana Akyaa Akosa, also highlighted the importance of knowledge sharing and the benefits of adapting Nebraska’s agricultural innovations to Ghana’s local context to directly support Ghanaian farmers.
Senator Schilz reaffirmed Nebraska’s commitment to knowledge and technology exchange, sharing lessons learned in food storage and safety practices, and to exploring potential business opportunities between Ghana and the State of Nebraska, USA.
Aug 14, 2026
President John Mahama has reiterated his government’s commitment to improving the Free Senior High School (Free SHS) programme, dismissing claims that he intends to abolish the policy introduced by his predecessor, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, in 2017.
According to President Mahama, the decision by his government to retain and improve the programme demonstrates its commitment to ensuring that Ghanaian children have access to secondary education regardless of their financial circumstances.
He made the remarks during his ongoing tour of the Upper East Region, where he commissioned an E-Block school facility as part of efforts to expand educational infrastructure in the region.
President Mahama said claims that he would scrap the Free SHS policy if elected were part of what he described as propaganda by his political opponents during the 2024 election campaign.
He said his administration had no intention of abolishing the programme, but would rather implement measures to improve its delivery and address challenges that had emerged since its introduction.
“One of our major Resetting Ghana Agenda is that we will improve the quality and access of education at all levels, including secondary. And so we set out to resolve some of the challenges that had bedevilled especially secondary education since the beginning of the Free SHS.
I remember during the campaign (in 2024), there was a devious campaign going around that when Mahama comes to office, he is going to cancel Free SHS. I can believe now that you can all see that it was all propaganda,” he said.
“We are rather improving the Free SHS so that the learning outcomes and the quality of education are better. Before we came to office, there was a challenge of feeding Senior High School students; we have largely resolved that, and the quantity and quality of food have improved,” he noted.
The commissioning of the E-Block facility, he said, formed part of the government’s broader efforts to expand infrastructure and improve the quality of education across the country.
The Free SHS programme was introduced in 2017 under the Akufo-Addo administration, providing tuition-free secondary education in public senior high schools.
The policy has since significantly increased enrolment, although it has also faced challenges relating to infrastructure, feeding, overcrowding and other resources.
President Mahama said his administration would continue to address those challenges rather than reverse the policy, stressing that the objective was to make Free SHS more effective and sustainable.
Source: https://nafco.gov.gh
Aug 14, 2026
Agriculture education has received a big boost with the launch of the Ghana Agricultural Education Transformation Fund (GAFET), a landmark initiative to support sustainable financing for agricultural education, innovation and skills development in the country.
The initiative is expected to drive the transformation of agricultural educational institutions across the country.
An initial GH¢3.5 million has already been mobilised as seed money by the five funding partners, namely Farmerline Consult Ltd, New Age Agric Solutions Ltd, Tradeline Consult Ltd, Grow For Me Ltd and AgriSolve Ltd.
Agricultural education institutions face an estimated annual funding gap of GH¢12 million.
The Minister of Food and Agriculture, Eric Opoku, who launched the initiative last Tuesday in Accra, invited other organisations to come on board and support the programme.
The immediate ambition, he said, was to grow the fund to GH¢10 million by December 2026 and to GH¢100 million by the end of 2028.
Mr Opoku said he was excited that, under his watch, he had witnessed a surge in public confidence in leadership, with people contributing resources towards finding solutions to some of the problems that had, for a long time, appeared intractable.
He said listening to the stories, it was evident that the road to destiny could never be smooth, and that “it is bumpy, tortuous and sometimes rough, but you have to demonstrate tenacity to be able to achieve your aims”.
He said national development was a shared responsibility, and that the private sector must not remain a spectator waiting for government to act.
Mr Opoku said the private sector must become an active partner in identifying challenges, mobilising resources and delivering sustainable solutions, stressing that while government should lead, society must build.
He said when the government provided direction, and the private sector contributed capital, innovation, expertise and efficiency, national aspirations could be transformed into enduring institutions.
“The Ghana Agricultural Education Transformation Fund is, therefore, a powerful demonstration of what public-private partnership can achieve. It reminds us that the future we desire will not be built by the government alone. It will be built through the collective effort of the government, businesses, development partners, institutions and citizens working together in the national interest,” he emphasised
He recognised the five pioneering Ghanaian agribusinesses, whose support had helped to mobilise the initial seed funding for the initiative, and said they understood the realities of the Ghanaian agriculture sector.
The Lead Coordinator of GAFET, Steven Nhyira Odarteifio, said no nation could transform its agriculture without first transforming institutions that educated, trained and inspired its future agriculture leaders.
Mr Odarteifio said for the first time in the history of the country, a coalition of Ghanaian-led agribusinesses had come together to invest not in their own balance sheets, but in the future of young agriculture students and graduates whose destinies were on the verge of obscurity and irrelevance.
He said the benefactor organisations were not the nation’s largest corporations, but medium-sized enterprises that had built their institutions through hard work and perseverance.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of AgriSolve Ltd, Elorm Goh, said the organisation believed agriculture could change the fortunes of the country.
The CEO of Grow For Me Ltd, Nana Opoku Agyeman, said those in the sector “are transforming our destinies by ourselves”.
The General Manager of New Age Agric Solutions Ltd, Martin Tettey Nartey, said his company had always believed that the future of the country’s agriculture would not be built only in the field, but also in classrooms, laboratories and demonstration fields, among other settings.
The CEO of Tradeline Consult Ltd, Samuel Atiemo, said it was not too late to change the narrative of agriculture in the country.
The Financial Controller of Farmerline Consult Ltd, Bennet Nyasembi, said to create a sustainable environment, the company decided to embrace the idea.
At the event, five agriculture colleges presented their strategic plans to the sector minister.
Source: https://www.graphic.com.gh/
Aug 12, 2026
Government is targeting GH¢10 million by the end of 2026 to finance the Ghana Agricultural Fund for Education and Transformation, as it seeks to establish a sustainable financing mechanism for agricultural education and skills development.Ghana tourism promotion
The initiative is expected to mobilise funding to support agricultural education, skills training and capacity development, with the broader objective of strengthening Ghana’s agricultural workforce and improving productivity across the sector.
So far, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture has mobilised GH¢3.5 million, representing 35 per cent of the 2026 target. This leaves a funding gap of GH¢6.5 million to be raised by December.
Speaking at the launch of the Fund, the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Eric Opoku, said the amount already mobilised provides a strong foundation for the initiative.
“The initial Ghc3.5 million already mobilised gives the initiative a credible and solid foundation.”
Mr. Opoku said government intends to significantly expand the Fund over the next two years, with a long-term target of GH¢100 million by 2028.
“Our immediate ambition is to grow the fund to Ghc10 million by 2026 and to Ghc100 million by 2028. These are bold targets, but they are achievable.”
He therefore called for stronger collaboration among government, private sector players and other stakeholders, stressing that agricultural education must be treated as a shared national responsibility.
“If every stakeholder represented here accepts agricultural education as a shared national responsibility, certainly we can achieve our dreams.”
The Minister also emphasised the need for strong accountability and transparency in the management of the Fund to build confidence among contributors.
He said stakeholders must be assured that their contributions would be professionally managed and directed towards clearly identified needs within agricultural education and skills development.
“A fund of this importance must not be built on trust, but contributors must be confident that their resources will be professionally managed, transparently accounted for and applied to purely identified needs.”
The Fund is expected to provide an avenue for businesses, financial institutions, development partners and other organisations to contribute to the development of agricultural skills and human capital.
source: https://www.citinewsroom.com
Aug 12, 2026
The National Food Buffer Stock Company (NAFCO) has taken delivery of rehabilitated warehouses in the Northern Region as it expands storage capacity under the National Food Security Reserve Programme (NFSRP).
The rehabilitated facilities at Yendi, Kumbungu and Wovogu are expected to increase NAFCO’s capacity to aggregate and store rice, maize and gari in the northern part of the country.
At Wovogu in the Sagnarigu Municipality, the 1,000-metric-tonne warehouse has been re-roofed, re-wired and painted. Flight-proof windows have also been installed to keep rodents away. The facility now has a 24-hour automated water supply system. Its administrative offices, changing room for casual workers and laboratory have also been refurbished, alongside improved security.
At Kumbungu, the warehouse currently holds about 15,000 bags of rice under the NFSRP. Rehabilitation works included fixing roof leakages, rewiring the facility and replacing damaged doors. The laboratory and offices have also been refurbished, while a drying platform has been constructed.
The expanded Yendi warehouse currently holds close to 40,000 bags of national food reserve grains, comprising rice, maize and gari. It also has 2,097 bags of millet in stock. The facility has also received two Mobile Storage Units (MSUs) donated to NAFCO by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to support government food security initiatives. Rehabilitation works at Yendi included refurbishment of the laboratory, installation of CCTV and fire alarm systems, construction of a perimeter wall and a drying platform with drainage.
NAFCO Chief Executive Officer, George Abradu-Otoo, inspected the facilities and expressed satisfaction with the work. He said the additional 250-metric-tonne capacity at Yendi would increase the warehouse’s total storage capacity to at least 4,400 metric tonnes.
“We need the space badly to step up our ability to buy, aggregate and store grains in various parts of the country. Once we buy, the local farmer is incentivised to continue farming to feed all of us”.
Mr Abradu-Otoo commended the contractors and consultants, the Architectural and Engineering Services Limited (AESL), for the timely execution of the projects.
The rehabilitation works were funded by NAFCO under the National Food Security Reserve Programme.
Aug 12, 2026
Chief Executive of the National Food Buffer Stock Company (NAFCO), George Abradu-Otoo, has described the late King of Dagbon, Ya-Na Mahama Abukari II, as a great man who made significant contributions to humanity.
Mr Abradu-Otoo made the remarks during a condolence visit to the Gbewaa Palace in Yendi as part of his two-day working visit to the Northern Region.
He paid tribute to the late Ya-Na, saying his death was a major loss to those who admired his peaceful disposition and commitment to the development of northern Ghana.
The NAFCO CEO recalled his interactions with the late traditional ruler about four months before his death, as well as the company’s support for the reconstruction of the Gbewaa Palace.
He also assured the newly installed Regent, Kpampakuya Naa Yakubu Abukari, of NAFCO’s continued support for the Dagbon Kingdom.
“I was overwhelmed by his reception…. He called me his son, that meant a lot to me. I am here today, on behalf of our board, management and staff to let the Regent, know that the same support we offered to our grandfather we would extend the same support to him”.
The Regent, Kpampakuya Naa Yakubu Abukari, thanked the NAFCO delegation for the visit and expression of solidarity.
Mr Abradu-Otoo was accompanied by NAFCO’s Head of Corporate Affairs, Emmanuel J.K Arthur; Head of Operations, Arnold Akah; National Coordinator of the National Food Reserve, Aziz Peregrino-Brimah; Northern Zone Manager, James Tieku Apawu; and Northern Regional Manager, Awudu Sualisu Mohammed.
The NAFCO CEO was in the Northern Region to inspect rehabilitation works on warehouses in the region.
