Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson has assured Ghanaian farmers that the government is taking urgent steps to address the growing glut of maize and rice in parts of the country, announcing that additional domestic resources are being mobilised to purchase the surplus produce and stabilise the market.

According to the Finance Minister, the government is determined to protect farmers from the financial losses associated with falling prices caused by excess supply, while ensuring that locally produced food reaches institutional markets across the country.

Speaking in an interview on the Citi Breakfast Show on Friday, July 24, the minister acknowledged the challenges confronting farmers following bumper harvests in several food-producing areas, which have resulted in an oversupply of grains and a sharp decline in farmgate prices.

“The minister responsible for agric is working and I know Buffer Stock has put in place measures for the maize and rice glut. I will also raise funds internally to mop up this glut.

“We have already given GH¢200 million to the National Food Buffer Stock Company to buy the glut. We have also asked the School Feeding Programme to buy made in Ghana rice.”

Over the past several months, farmers, particularly in the northern, middle belt and other major agricultural regions, have expressed concern over their inability to sell harvested maize and rice at profitable prices.

Many have complained that warehouses are filled with unsold produce while limited market access has left them struggling to recover production costs.

The glut has been attributed to a combination of increased production, inadequate storage capacity, limited processing facilities, weak market linkages and the slow pace of institutional purchases.

Farmer groups have repeatedly appealed to the government to intervene, warning that prolonged low prices could discourage production in subsequent farming seasons and undermine national food security. Source:Kabah Atawoge