The Ghanaian government has extended an urgent invitation to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and other African countries to purchase Ghana’s excess grain, aiming to alleviate the severe food glut currently overwhelming local farmers.
This announcement follows the government’s initial expenditure of 100 million cedis to purchase portions of the grain for its buffer stock—a measure farmers have described as only a “drop in the ocean.”
Speaking during the government’s accountability series, Minister for Food and Agriculture Eric Opoku detailed the government’s response to the market glut. “During the beginning of the season, we anticipated that there would be glut on the market, but we were unable to anticipate the quantum of glut, and that is why for the first time in our 2025 budget, we provided for 100 million to enable buffer stock to step into the market to buy the assets. That 100 million was exhausted within three days. In fact, when I visited the buffer stock warehouses, I saw the grains, the rice, the maize, and the gari, all there, and we still have so much on the market to clear.”
Minister Opoku further disclosed that he had informed President John Mahama, who approved an additional 200 million cedis to support the effort. The Ministry has also begun reaching out to international agencies like the World Food Programme and ECOWAS, as well as other countries on the continent, as some of them have shortages.
The government hopes this regional cooperation will help clear the surplus and prevent significant post-harvest losses for Ghanaian farmers.
