By Albert Futukpor, GNA
Tamale, Nov. 10, GNA – The government has earmarked GH¢500 million for the construction of silos at strategic locations across the country to strengthen food storage capacity and address post-harvest losses especially during periods of bumper harvest.
Mr Eric Opoku, Minister for Food and Agriculture, announced this, who said the move was to enable the country to store excess agricultural produce, especially maize and rice, to ensure food availability during emergencies and protect farmers against the challenges associated with market gluts.
He announced this while addressing the launch of the Regional West Africa Resilient Rice Value Chain Development project (REWARD-Ghana) in Tamale on Monday.
The REWARD-Ghana, a five-year (2026-2030) project, seeks to ensure national food self-sufficiency and reduce import bills through increased productivity and production, market development in rice value chain, and create gainful employment especially for women, and young people.
Mr Opoku said the government had so far procured about 30,000 tonnes of maize as part of efforts to establish a national food buffer stock to cushion the country against emergencies.
He said the food buffer initiative was to ensure that the country had adequate reserves to feed its population for two to three months during emergencies before seeking external assistance.
He said the country had previously struggled to maintain adequate food reserves resulting in the importation of rice, and maize whenever disasters disrupted domestic production.
He cited the 2024 farming season when armyworm infestation in parts of the north disrupted agricultural activities and compelled the government to import food to supplement local production.
Mr Opoku said the government was also monitoring the potential impact of El Niño on agricultural production and was considering mobilising additional resources to purchase available rice, and maize for storage against possible shortages.
He encouraged farmers to organise themselves into Community Commodity-Based Cooperatives to facilitate access to improved seeds, inputs, buyers, and other agricultural support services.
He said organising farmers into commodity-based groups would enable government and development partners to identify their production needs, provide appropriate support, and link them directly to buyers.
GNA
Edited by Eric K. Amoh/Linda Asante Agyei
10 November 2026
Reporter: Albert Futukpor
Email: [email protected]