The Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana (PFAG) is warning that inadequate funding for the National Food Buffer Stock Company (NAFCO) is leaving large quantities of rice unsold, forcing price cuts and threatening the country’s future rice production.
Acting Executive Director Bismark Nortey told the press that NAFCO has received less than 10 percent of the funds it requested to purchase surplus rice from local farmers. “There are still rice farmers struggling to find buyers because NAFCO doesn’t have the financial capacity to absorb all the rice in the system,” he explained.
The funding shortfall has contributed to a rice glut across the country, with farmers forced to sell below production costs, incurring heavy losses. Nortey warned that if the situation continues, many may abandon rice cultivation in the next planting season. “If this situation continues, many farmers will stop producing rice because they know their investments could go to waste,” he said.
PFAG has long highlighted the need for government intervention to stabilize the market. The association notes that the government has introduced minimum guaranteed farmgate prices, for example, a 50kg bag of rice is set to be purchased at GH¢625, to support farmers. However, Nortey stressed that consistent implementation and additional funding for NAFCO are critical to prevent the glut from undermining national rice production.
Beyond immediate procurement, PFAG is calling for broader agricultural policy reforms, including targeted subsidies, seed voucher programs, and enhanced access to quality seeds, to ensure that Ghana’s rice sector remains sustainable and profitable.
Without swift action, the association warns, the rice glut and inadequate funding could reverse gains toward rice self-sufficiency, threaten smallholder livelihoods, and compromise national food security.
