The Minister of Food and Agriculture, Eric Opoku, has disclosed that adequate funding will be provided in next year’s budget for the construction of silos to store grains. He said Ghana produced about 4.6 million tonnes of maize last year, exceeding the country’s estimated demand of 3.6 million tonnes and resulting in a surplus of approximately one million tonnes.
Mr Opoku therefore called on the Ghana Food Buffer Stock Company (NAFCO) to take a leading role in expanding the country’s storage capacity by constructing more silos to accommodate the increasing volume of cereal production. He made the remarks at NAFCO’s first Annual General Meeting (AGM) held in Accra last Thursday.
Held under the theme, “Strengthening Food Security through Strategic Partnership,” the AGM provided a platform for the company to present its annual reports and financial statements covering the financial years from December 31, 2010, to December 31 of last year. It also gave the board and management an opportunity to account to shareholders for their stewardship of the company.
NAFCO’s reserve
He said strengthening NAFCO’s capacity to absorb excess agricultural output would help provide farmers with a dependable market while ensuring that increased domestic production did not result in losses for producers.
The minister disclosed that NAFCO currently held 20,443 tonnes of grains in storage, describing the stock as an important step towards rebuilding the country’s strategic food reserves. He said the ministry had worked closely with NAFCO’s board and management to improve the company’s operations and replenish its reserves following years of financial and operational difficulties.
Mr Opoku also revealed that the government had directed NAFCO to release 50,000 bags of grains to settle the country’s outstanding obligation to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). He recalled that Ghana borrowed grains from ECOWAS in 2018 to support the School Feeding Programme.
“Today, by the grace of God and through prudent management of the company, we have been able to procure enough, and more than enough, to repay what we borrowed,” he said. The minister further directed NAFCO to ensure that suppliers contracted to provide food for public feeding programmes sourced their supplies directly from Ghanaian farmers instead of relying on imported produce.
Mr Opoku said the use of imported food for programmes such as Free SHS undermined local production because the spending generated employment outside the country while reducing demand for food produced locally.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NAFCO, Mr George Abradu-Otoo, said the company had recorded profits in several previous years, including 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022 and 2023. However, he said the latest performance had surpassed all previous results.
“The 2025 net profit before tax of GH¢91.7 million not only wiped out the GH¢19.4 million loss recorded the previous year, but also represents the highest profit ever recorded by the company,” he said.
Mr. Abradu-Otoo noted that the company’s gross profit margin recorded a substantial increase, rising from 1.61 per cent in 2024 to 13.96 per cent in 2025. He attributed the strong performance to enhanced cost controls and sustained revenue growth. He added that NAFCO’s return on operating assets improved markedly, moving from a negative 63.80 per cent to a positive 26.29 per cent, demonstrating more effective utilization and management of the company’s assets.
Highlighting another milestone, he said NAFCO paid GH¢20.3 million in taxes to the state in 2025, representing the highest annual tax contribution since the company’s establishment 16 years ago. Despite these impressive gains, the CEO cautioned that the company still faced operational challenges, particularly with respect to working capital management.
