NSS donates 5,000 bags of maize to NAFCO

The National Service Scheme (NSS) has donated a first consignment of 5,000 bags of maize to the National Food Buffer Stock Company (NAFCO) to support in the feeding of senior high school (SHS) students in the country.

The Executive Director of the NSS, Mr Mustapha Ussif, who made the donation to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NAFCO, Mr Abdul-Wahab Hanan, in Accra last Wednesday, said the remaining 45,000,bags would be delivered soon.

He said the maize was harvested from NSS farms in some parts of the country.

Rationale

He explained that the donation was to support the government’s free SHS policy of making secondary education affordable to all.

“The free SHS policy rolled out by the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, is no doubt one of the best social intervention programmes meant to increase access to senior school education in the country. We at the NSS realised that the students need to eat to stay focused, hence our decision to support the policy with maize from our farms,” he added.

He entreated other stakeholders to also support the free SHS initiative to succeed.

SHS farms

Mr Ussif also announced plans by the NSS to establish farms in 100 selected second-cycle schools in the country.

“We have made arrangements to start this planting season. So far, we are at an advanced stage of acquiring land to begin planting this season,” he said.

For his part, Mr Hanan said the donation was a step in the right direction, since it would beef up the stock of foodstuffs at the company.

He lauded the management of the NSS for the kind gesture and called on other public and private institutions to support NAFCO in its activities to ensure food security in Ghana.