A nine-member board of directors of the National Food Buffer Stock Company (NAFCO), was inaugurated in Accra yesterday by Minister of Food and Agriculture, Mr Eric Opoku, with a call on members to champion national food security and ensure price stability.Chaired by Dr Eric Osei-Owusu, the board has been tasked to play a transformative role in the operations of the Buffer Stock Company to better serve the interests of both farmers and consumers.Speaking at the inauguration ceremony in Accra, the Minister underscored the importance of Buffer Stock in stabilising Ghana's agricultural market."We are all aware that in Ghana, agriculture is seasonal.
So in the peak season, we normally have a lot of food in the market.
The price of food collapses completely.
It falls so low that our farmers are unable to recoup their investment," he said.He urged the Buffer Stock Company to act swiftly during bumper harvests by purchasing surplus produce for storage, and releasing them onto the market in the lean season when prices rise, in order to protect both producers and consumers."You have that dual responsibility of ensuring that the farmer who is the producer of the food is protected, and then the consumer is also protected," Mr Opoku said.He entreated the Board to maintain a strategic food reserve to deal with national emergencies, while citing last year's dry spell in the northern part of the country, as one of such national emergencies.Mr Opoku also bemoaned the failure by the company to access 20,000-tonnes of cereal allocation from the Economic Community of West African State (ECOWAS) last year due to the political instability in Burkina Faso where the stock was being held.He, therefore, announced that the government had made a budgetary provision to support Buffer Stock in building emergency food reserves and called on the Board to discharge its mandate effectively.For his part, the Chairman of the Board, Osei-Owusu, expressed appreciation to President John Dramani Mahama, the Council of State, and the Minister for the honour done them.Dr Osei-Owusu, a founding Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NAFCO, said the company had a vital role in securing farmers against post-harvest losses and ensuring fair food prices.He stated that NAFCO's mission aligned with government's Feed Ghana and RESET agenda, which seek to modernise agriculture, reduce food inflation, promote agribusiness and create sustainable jobs."With improved infrastructure, increased funding, and trained manpower, NAFCO is poised to fulfil its role as a national food reserve and aggregator," he noted.He assured the Minister and the public of the Board's commitment to deliver on its mandate and support Ghana's broader agricultural transformation. BY EUGENE AMPIAW
