By Albert Ansah
Accra, Sept. 18, GNA – Ghana has received 500 metric tonnes of cereals from the ECOWAS Regional Food Security Reserve to help its national response strategy following a drought that affected major grain supply areas.
The delivery of maize, sorghum, millet, and rice aims to increase the resilience of populations facing food insecurity.
Mr. Charles Ndiaye, the Acting ECOWAS Resident Representative in Ghana presented the consignment to Dr Bryan Acheampong, the Minister of Food and Agriculture in Accra.
According to the March 2024 food and nutrition situation report by Cadre Harmonisé, around 50 million people in West Africa and the Sahel, including over one million in Ghana, are food insecure and need aid.
Mr. Ndiaye said that the ECOWAS commission is providing 5,370 tonnes of cereals to six countries in response to the region’s food crisis.
The ECOWAS Regional Food Security Reserve has already supported Nigeria in July 2024 and plans to support Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, and Sierra Leone, all of which have experienced food and nutrition issues during the same period.
Dr Acheampong, who received the food consignment, expressed gratitude to ECOWAS for that show of solidarity following the drought in the country’s grain hub, resulting in the loss of many acres.
“This has come in timely because we are almost in a period where grains from the Northern and Bono would have trickled in to supplement that in the market. This will indeed help,” he said.
The Minister said that the food supplies from ECOWAS and other stocks would be distributed from September 23, 2024.
He said that the drought, which destroyed crops, had prompted the Ministry to set up more cereal storage facilities.
“Government has commenced the construction of a 60,000 metric tonnes warehouse under the National Grain Strategy Reserved in the Kwahu East to store grains.
“As a ministry, we are planning to build 100,000 metric tonnes each in the 16 regions,” he said.
Between 2017 and 2024, the ECOWAS Regional Food Reserve provided support to six countries (Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Ghana, Mali, Niger, and Nigeria) in excess of 55,000 tonnes of grains.
The Reserve is the third pillar of ECOWAS’ regional storage strategy, adopted by its 15 member nations on February 28, 2013, in Yamoussoukro, Côte d’Ivoire.
GNA