By Fatima Anafu-Astanga
Bolgatanga, Oct. 24, GNA – Five Warehouses built under the Government of Ghana’s Flagship Programme, “One District, One Warehouse (1D1W) in the Upper East Region is being under-utilised.
The 1,000 tonne capacity Warehouses, constructed for each constituency in the various Agricultural Districts under the Infrastructure Poverty Eradication Programme (IPEP), is aimed at enhancing food security, reducing post-harvest loses and improving the agricultural sector.
Mr Francis Ennor, the Regional Director, Ministry of Food and Agriculture, who spoke in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Bolgatanga, on the status of the warehouses said they had been handed over and taken by the buffer stock.
The Regional Director said some individual farmers, influenced by cultural practices, did not like to expose their produce to the public so everyone would know the quantity of food they harvested, hence the low patronage.
He said farmers were still being sensitised on the cooperative system to improve their participation in the use of the facilities.
The warehouses are in the Talensi district, Nabdam district, Builsa North and South as well as the Garu district while the on- going projects were that of the Bongo district and Kassena Nankana West district in Paga, he added.
The Director said for the five warehouses that had been handed to the buffer stock, plans were in place to buy and stock grains for the school feeding programme and for storage of food for the country as a whole.
He said procedural plans on how best to use the warehouses were being drafted for some individuals, who had shown interest to use the facilities for storage, adding that opportunities exist for private persons to utilise the facilities for storage of food.
He said the government was drafting proposals to either operate the facilities on private partnership basis or for the District Assemblies to do so.
Mr Ennor said due to high rice production in the Builsa South, the facility there had been allocated to support the farmers to store surplus produce.
Meanwhile, the Nabdam district warehouse in 2021 suffered some damage as a result of rainstorm, which affected some parts of the building.
On general performance of crops in this years’ cropping season, the Director said maize production had been good but rice production was reduced.
GNA