GHANA – The National Food Buffer Stock Company (NAFCO) has unveiled that it is set to construct storage facilities with a total capacity of 80,000 tonnes as part of its efforts of shoring up the national buffer stock.

The new facilities, which are scheduled to be complete by the end of the year, will increase its storage capacity from the current 33,000 tonnes of food.

According to the chief executive of NAFCO, Mr Hanan Abdul Wahab, the government had so far awarded contracts for the construction of warehouses intended for storage of Rice, maize, soya bean, millet, cowpea and peanuts.

He added that the company has also constructed three additional warehouses each with a storage capacity of 1,000 tonnes.

The ministries of Special Development Initiatives and Food and Agriculture are respectively responsible for the 50,000 and the 30,000 tonne capacity warehouses across the country, reports GhanaWeb.

The government under the one district, one warehouse initiative has also constructed about 40 warehouses as part of its measures to address post-harvest losses in the country.

Platform to reduce post-harvest losses launched

The Ghana Trade and Livelihood Coalition (GTLC) has also launched a multi-stakeholders post-harvest management platform in the Upper West Region charged to promote inclusive technologies towards cutting down post-harvest losses.

The platform was established through the Voice for Change Programme (V4CP) implemented by the GTLC with support from Netherlands Development Organisation (SNV) and International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).

Speaking at the launch, Mr Ibrahim Akalbila, Coordinator of GTLC, said the platform was to create awareness on the best post-harvest management practices aimed at addressing challenges of post harvest losses.

“The Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) estimates of post-harvest losses across the country are in the range of 10-20 per cent for dry cereals and 10-40 percent for vegetables, perishable fruits and roots,” he highlighted.

Dr Hafiz Bin-Salih, the Upper West Regional Minister, said Ghana lost 3.2 million metric tons of food valued at $8.9 billion in 2013 to post harvest losses.

The platform will consist of government agencies and institutions, private organisations, agriculture value chain actors, and civil society organisations working together to create conditions for better post-harvest management.