Boost Buffer Stock Funding Now or Risk Collapsing Rice Farming – Peasant Farmers Warn

The Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana (PFAG) has called on government to immediately increase funding to the National Food Buffer Stock Company (NAFCO) to enable it to mop up surplus rice from local producers and avert massive post-harvest losses.

According to the Association, NAFCO has received less than 10 percent of the funds it requested for its procurement operations this season, leaving thousands of tonnes of paddy rice unsold across major rice-producing regions.

Speaking on the matter, the Acting Executive Director of PFAG, Bismark Nortey, said the situation has left many farmers stranded, forcing them to sell their produce at throwaway prices or risk spoilage.

“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,” Mr. Nortey explained.

He warned that the lack of a ready market could discourage farmers from cultivating rice in the next planting season, threatening Ghana’s drive toward self-sufficiency in rice production.

“If this situation continues, many farmers will stop producing rice because they know their investments could go to waste,” he cautioned. “We are calling on the government and the President to urgently allocate more resources to NAFCO. The current funding is woefully inadequate.”

Mr. Nortey further stressed that a sustained and well-funded Buffer Stock operation is vital to stabilising farm gate prices, preventing post-harvest losses, and protecting the livelihoods of smallholder farmers.

The Association has warned that without swift intervention, Ghana risks reversing recent gains in local rice production, a move that could increase reliance on imports and weaken national food security.