Chief Executive Officer of the National Food Buffer Stock Company, George Abradu-Otoo, has revealed that Ghana is only now taking meaningful steps toward establishing a national food reserve system, despite many West African countries having maintained such reserves for years.
Speaking on JoyNews’ PM Express Business Edition on Thursday, Mr. Abradu-Otoo described the government’s recent investment in food reserves as a significant policy shift, although he acknowledged that funding remains far below what is needed to achieve the programme’s objectives.
According to him, the Buffer Stock Company has so far received a total of ₵300 million for grain purchases.
“Last year, Minister of Finance Dr. Ato Forson announced that they were giving us a 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 amount falls significantly short of the resources required to undertake large-scale grain purchases and establish a robust strategic reserve.
“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 funding gap, he described the initiative as an important milestone for Ghana, noting that previous governments had not prioritised the establishment of 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 added that the most significant achievement so far is the government’s recognition of the need for a strategic food reserve to strengthen national food security.
“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.
Mr. Abradu-Otoo further highlighted Ghana’s unusual position within the West African sub-region, revealing that it was the only country without 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 remarked.
The Buffer Stock CEO’s comments come as government intensifies efforts to improve food security, stabilise food prices and support farmers by purchasing surplus grains for storage and future distribution.
However, he cautioned that achieving these goals on a meaningful scale will require significantly greater financial commitment than the ₵300 million allocated so far.
For now, Mr. Abradu-Otoo believes the establishment of a national food reserve marks a critical first step toward strengthening Ghana’s food security framework and bringing the country in line with practices already adopted across much of West Africa.
