The National Food Buffer Stock Company (NAFCO) and the United Nations’ World Food Programme (WFP) have collaborated to enhance the capacity of NAFCO’s technical personnel in order to improve efficiency in the agricultural value chain.

A five-day capacity enhancement training workshop was conducted for twenty-three technical personnel from NAFCO, including Regional Managers, Food Safety Officers, and Quality Control Managers.

The workshop, under the theme, “Working together for food security and resilient food systems,” was facilitated by agriculture and food science experts from the Faculty of Agriculture at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).

The training covered various topics, including Post-Harvest Management, Grains Storage best practices, Modern Warehouse Management Techniques, Food Safety, Quality Control, and Standards.

During the opening ceremony in Kumasi, the Ashanti Regional Director of Food and Agriculture, Rev. Dr. John Manu, highlighted the government’s plans to strengthen the country’s food security systems and ensure resilience in the food security architecture.

He emphasized the need to sustain the gains achieved in 2022 and scale up targets for the future.

The workshop was funded by the World Food Programme (WFP) as part of its south-south triangular cooperation pilot project.

Rev. Dr. Manu expressed his appreciation for the success of the government’s flagship interventions in the agriculture sector and stated that the Ministry of Food and Agriculture is working on consolidating those gains. He mentioned initiatives such as Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ), one district one Warehouse, and one village one Dam.

The training aimed to help NAFCO position itself and collaborate effectively with aggregators in preparation for the implementation of PFJ 2:0. It also aimed to ensure a reliable emergency national food reserve and explore subregional markets for surplus maize and rice.

Officials from NAFCO expressed gratitude to the World Food Programme for its support and acknowledged the strategic importance of the partnership for Ghana’s food security agenda.

The training workshop was aimed at enhancing the technical abilities of NAFCO’s staff to improve operations and fulfill the organization’s mandates more effectively.