The Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana is calling on the government to urgently increase funding to the National Food Buffer Stock Company (NAFCO) to enable the agency to purchase excess rice from local producers and prevent widespread financial losses.
The Association says many rice farmers are struggling to find buyers due to NAFCO’s limited purchasing capacity, caused by severe underfunding. This has forced farmers to sell their produce at drastically reduced prices or risk losing it entirely.
Bismark Nortey, Acting Executive Director of the Association, revealed that NAFCO has received less than 10 percent of the funds it requested to carry out its procurement operations leaving large volumes of paddy rice unsold in various parts of the country.
“Rice farmers across Ghana are facing serious difficulties because NAFCO lacks the financial means to purchase all the rice currently on the market,” Mr. Nortey said. “This is creating a glut, pushing prices down, and threatening farmers’ livelihoods.”
He warned that continued inaction could lead many farmers to abandon rice production altogether in the next planting season due to fears of poor returns and market uncertainty.
“If this situation is not addressed immediately, many farmers will stop cultivating rice. They simply cannot afford to keep investing in a crop that might not be sold. We are urging the government and the President to provide adequate funding to NAFCO without delay,” he stated.
The Association emphasized that without swift and adequate intervention, the country’s efforts toward achieving rice self-sufficiency could be derailed with negative consequences for both farmer incomes and national food security.
