Accra, Ghana//-Ghana’s National Food Buffer Stock Company (NAFCO) says it is seeking an intervention by the World Food Programme, United Nations (UN) food agency, to enhance food systems in the country.
Deputy Chief Executive Officer Osmond Amuah, who said this, believes that infrastructural overhaul, the infusion of innovation, technology and best practices would contribute towards resilient systems to advance food security in Ghana.
Mr Amuah, during an interaction with a visiting WFP technical team in Accra, hinted at a move by the government to beef up the national food stock by making available some GHC 100 million for grain purchases.
This, according to him, is towards averting the recurrence of the drought that hit part of northern Ghana last year.
He acknowledged: “That drought was catastrophic…it worsened the level of poverty. We are doing everything possible to ensure the level of impact is minimised should it even occur again”.
The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) estimates that some 2 million people are the risk of facing food insecurity.
NAFCO and WFP have been working together under the South-South Cooperation Triangle as well as the Rice Fortification initiative under the Rockefeller Project, Mr Amuah noted.
The Chief Executive Officer of NAFCO, Mr. George Abradu-Otoo, said a major focus of the company’s operation has been to work in alignment with the government’s Feed Ghana programme to address food inflation issues and improve the lives of the vulnerable.
He therefore called for stronger ties among partners towards the attainment of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) relating to food security and health.
The WFP Regional Head of Resilience and Food Systems, Dr Ones Karuho, used the visit to pledge WFP’s readiness to partner with NAFCO to strengthen key areas such as Warehouse Management, food safety and procurement processes in the country.
“We are desirous of working with NAFCO on many important strategic areas, to better the lives of farmers, young people and the vulnerable”, he said.
The four-member team from the WFP Regional Office in Dakar, Senegal, was led by Dr Ones Karuho, Head of Resilience and Food Systems and included Programme Policy Officer, Albert Akafari; Agribusiness Consultant, Foster Gomashie; and Diarde Ba, Food Systems Officer.
The team was in Ghana to hold in-country consultations with stakeholders on the Country Strategic Plan and the WFP Food Security Strategy currently being developed.
