Govt to fight post-harvest losses with cocoa warehouses
The Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) is to use the idling capacities of the cocoa warehouses nationwide to store excess farm produce for future use. The move will be the outcome of a partnership between the sector ministry and the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), which administers the warehouses, to stock extra foodstuff.
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It is aimed at fighting post-harvest losses, which are fast becoming a challenge to the agricultural sector.
The Senior Minister, Mr Yaw Osafo-Maafo, explained that the initiative was needed to make the agricultural sector function well.
“The warehousing system is going to be put in place. About 45 per cent of the capacity of COCOBOD in storage is idling. Cocoa sheds in all the districts are about half empty, whereas they can accommodate grains,” he said at the fifth edition of the Graphic Business/Stanbic Bank Business Breakfast Meeting series in Accra.
He added that due to anticipated increases in production following government’s programmes in the sector to ensure food security, there was the need to put in place measures to insulate farmers against post-harvest losses.
Remedy
The Programmes Officer of the Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana (PFAG), Mr Charles Nyaaba, said although the government’s decision was laudable, it was important for the country to make every effort to do things right.
He said that the National Food Buffer Stock Company (NAFCO) was formed to mop up excess produced, but failed in its mandate due to series of challenges.
“This time, we should concentrate on addressing post-harvest losses by building capacity of farmers on post-harvest management, providing facilities such as dryers, harvesters and packaging facilities. This should be done with the participation of farmer-based organisations,” he said.
Post-harvest losses
Most often, the excess foodstuffs Ghanaian farmers produce for the market go to waste, and experts say such a situation does not aid economic development for a developing country.
An Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA)-sponsored research on post-harvest losses of selected food crops in 11 African countries in 2013 revealed that almost half of the food crops produced in the country do not make it to the final consumer.
It said maize production losses ranged between five to 70 per cent while between 11 to 27 per cent of rice never made it to the consumer.
The report added that 18 per cent of cassava was lost after harvesting.
Indeed, post-harvest losses are a major threat to food security in the country and there have been calls for an in-depth research to quantify the losses and propose interventions.
