Food is piling up and going to waste on farms across the country while Senior High Schools battle shortages of basic supplies, according to Minority Chief Whip Frank Annoh-Dompreh, who says the situation reflects a deep failure in governance and coordination.
In a letter addressed to President John Mahama on Wednesday, the Nsawam-Adoagyiri MP raised alarm over what he described as a worsening breakdown in Ghana’s food distribution system, warning that the crisis could have serious implications for farmers, students and the country’s food security.
“While the shortage of food is typically alarming, equally problematic is the glut of foodstuffs. Unfortunately, we are now witnessing both,” he stated.
Mr Annoh-Dompreh said producers of grains, roots and tubers are struggling to find buyers for their harvests even as schools continue to complain about inadequate food supplies.
“Farmers of grains, roots, and tubers are reporting little to no sales of their crops,” he said, adding that institutions such as the National Buffer Stock are constrained by “paltry budgetary allocations.”
The Minority Chief Whip argued that the ripple effects are already being felt in schools, where irregular food deliveries are affecting students and administrators alike.
“Persistent food shortages and food supply disruptions in Senior High Schools also represent a serious governance and administrative failure with direct social consequences,” he wrote.
“Inadequate and irregular food supply undermines student welfare, affects concentration and academic performance, and places unnecessary pressure on school management.”
He said many farmers who recorded strong harvests last year are now watching their produce spoil because there are no reliable markets or storage systems to absorb the excess supply.
“Our farmers did their part to deliver bumper harvest last year. But today, their produce rots because there are no markets,” he stated.
“A tomato farmer in the Ketu South cannot sell his harvest even at rock-bottom prices, while households in Accra buy expensive imported tomato paste.”
Mr Annoh-Dompreh also questioned why locally produced food remains costly despite the abundance of crops on farms.
“Maize farmers cannot find buyers, yet a bag of local rice is more expensive than imported parboiled rice from Vietnam or Thailand. This paradox is crushing the backbone of our nation,” he stressed.
He warned that the continued losses are pushing many farmers out of agriculture entirely.
“Farmers who cannot sell their harvest cannot afford seeds, fertiliser, or labour for the next planting season. Many are abandoning their farms altogether, threatening a future famine,” he cautioned.
“Some are even selling their farmland to real estate developers out of desperation.”
According to him, the crisis has been worsened by weak agricultural marketing systems, poor roads and inadequate storage facilities.
“The absence of an agricultural marketing board with guaranteed minimum prices, the lack of storage infrastructure (silos and cold chains), and the neglect of feeder roads mean that abundance becomes waste,” he said.
He urged the government to immediately introduce an emergency produce purchasing programme, expand strategic food reserves and establish a more reliable framework for supplying food to public Senior High Schools.
