The Ghanaian government has completed 80 warehouses across the country, the Minister for Food and Agriculture, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, has said.
The warehouses, according to the minister, have the capacity to store up to 1,000 metric tonnes (MT) of food items aimed at ensuring food security in the country.
The minister disclosed this during an interview with an Accra based radio station, Peace FM, monitored by the Ghanaian Times in Accra yesterday.
Dr Akoto said the warehouses were ready to be handed over and would be distributed to the National Food Buffer Stock Company (NAFCO), Ghana Stock Exchange, private sector organisations and the sector Ministry for efficient operation
According to the minister, many farmers, over time, complained of incurring huge debts because they were unable to sell their produce on time, while there were no warehouses to store the produce until they got buyers.
But the minister reiterated that the completed warehouses would enable farmers store enough food, reduce post-harvest loses, improve farmer incomes and increase good marketing.
The minister also refuted claims that there were food shortage in the country, stating that the food situations in the regions were enough evidence, however, food being relatively expensive was as a result of some external factors.
He said the increase in food prices was not because of government policies, but external factors such as increment of imported chemicals and other external factors beyond their control.
“Because of Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) Programme, there are abundant of food in the country. We’re in the harvest season of maize and when you go to the savanna regions and the transitional zones such as Techiman and others, maize are in abundance, which indicates that the PFJ has really come to rescue the country from hunger,” he added.
