WFP Backs Major Tamale Grain Hub to Strengthen Ghana Food Reserves

Ghana’s efforts to strengthen food security are set for a major boost as the World Food Programme prepares to finance a new large-capacity grain warehouse for the National Food Buffer Stock Company in Tamale.

The planned facility is expected to expand the country’s storage capacity while improving how grain is preserved, monitored and managed. Officials say the project will come with a dedicated laboratory and supporting infrastructure aimed at tightening quality control and raising storage efficiency.

The intervention adds fresh momentum to state efforts to build a stronger food reserve system at a time when Ghana continues to focus on emergency preparedness, stable food supply and more resilient agricultural distribution channels.

The proposed Tamale warehouse will be financed by the World Food Programme and built for NAFCO as part of a wider push to reinforce Ghana’s food security systems.

Warehouse project signals stronger support for national reserves

The warehouse plan emerged during a meeting between NAFCO Chief Executive Officer George Abradu-Otoo and Vimbayi Dhliwayo, Head of the WFP Bolgatanga Sub-Office. The engagement formed part of a two-day working visit to the Upper East Region, where discussions centred on food systems, storage readiness and collaboration between institutions involved in agricultural support and national food security.

For NAFCO, the importance of modern storage goes beyond infrastructure. Grain reserves play a direct role in stabilising food supply, supporting public programmes and creating a buffer during disruptions. A large-capacity facility in Tamale, a strategic northern hub, would place added weight behind those goals.

Officials indicated that the project is aligned with the government’s broader agenda to improve food security nationwide. That makes the Tamale development more than a construction plan. It is part of a wider institutional effort to improve how food stocks are stored, protected and mobilised when required.

The inclusion of a laboratory is especially significant. Storage losses, contamination risks and poor post-harvest handling have long undermined food systems across many markets. A dedicated lab can help strengthen inspection standards and support decisions on grain quality before commodities are released, transferred or held in reserve.

Support infrastructure tied to the project is also expected to improve operational efficiency. That matters for a buffer stock system that must be able to respond quickly in times of need while maintaining acceptable standards for storage conditions and stock management.

WFP expands support beyond Tamale with mobile storage units

Alongside the planned warehouse, WFP is also deploying two Mobile Storage Units to assist NAFCO operations in different parts of Ghana. The addition of portable storage capacity offers a practical layer of flexibility, particularly in areas where permanent facilities may be stretched, under rehabilitation or not ideally positioned for immediate need.

Mobile storage units can be crucial in emergency planning because they allow institutions to respond faster to shifting storage demands. They also help reduce pressure on fixed warehouses during peak procurement periods or in locations where temporary expansion becomes necessary.

Taken together, the warehouse and mobile units suggest a partnership that is moving beyond broad statements into tangible logistics support. For a country seeking to make its food reserve system more dependable, that shift matters.

The discussions between NAFCO and WFP also reaffirmed a shared commitment to deepening cooperation in ways that improve food systems, support livelihoods and enhance food security outcomes. That language reflects a practical reality: food security is not secured by production alone. It depends on storage, quality assurance, transport coordination, institutional readiness and sustained partnerships.

• A new large-capacity grain warehouse is planned for Tamale
• The facility will include a dedicated laboratory
• WFP is also deploying two Mobile Storage Units for NAFCO use
• The measures are linked to Ghana’s wider food security strategy

NAFCO tours northern facilities ahead of reserve programme phase two

The announcement comes as Mr Abradu-Otoo undertakes a broader inspection exercise across the Northern, Upper East, Upper West and Savannah Regions. The tour is intended to assess the condition of warehouses and determine their readiness for emergency stock storage ahead of Phase Two of the National Food Reserve Programme.

That ongoing review points to a system preparing for expansion and reform at the same time. Before reserves can be built or scaled, storage sites must be capable of handling commodities safely and efficiently. Readiness checks therefore become an essential part of the policy chain.

The tour has also created room for engagement with regional authorities and sector stakeholders. In the Upper East Region, the NAFCO team held separate meetings with senior officials from the Regional Administration and the Bolgatanga Municipal Assembly. Those discussions underline the role local institutions play in supporting warehouse operations, commodity movement and emergency response coordination.

Mr Abradu-Otoo’s itinerary also included inspections tied to public food supply concerns. At Bolgatanga Girls Secondary School and Bolgatanga Secondary Technical School, he inspected stored food commodities and engaged Headmistress Gifty Ayamba as well as the Regional Chairman of the Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools, Richard Ayabilla. Their discussions focused on food supply issues under the Free SHS programme.

That part of the visit is notable because it connects national reserve planning to everyday delivery challenges in schools. Food security policy often sounds abstract until it is measured against institutions that depend on regular supplies. Senior high schools are among the clearest examples. If storage systems fail, school feeding logistics come under pressure. If reserve systems improve, institutions relying on structured food supply chains stand to benefit.

The NAFCO chief also inspected warehouse facilities at Zualungu and Pusu-Namongo, broadening the assessment beyond official meetings and into site-level conditions. Such inspections are necessary if the next phase of the reserve programme is to rest on a realistic understanding of what existing infrastructure can handle.

George Abradu-Otoo’s regional tour is assessing warehouse readiness for emergency stock storage as NAFCO prepares to roll out Phase Two of the National Food Reserve Programme.

He was accompanied by key officials including Aziz Peregrino-Brimah, Coordinator of the National Food Reserve, Arnold Kojo Akah, Head of Operations, and Emmanuel J.K Arthur, Head of Corporate Affairs. Their presence signals that the exercise is not merely ceremonial. It is operational, strategic and tied to decisions that will shape the next phase of reserve planning.

The bigger picture is straightforward. Ghana cannot talk seriously about food resilience without serious investment in storage. Production may begin on farms, but food security is won or lost in the systems that preserve harvests, protect quality and make stocks available when pressure rises. The Tamale warehouse project, backed by WFP, places that truth at the centre of the conversation.

If delivered as planned, the facility could strengthen NAFCO’s capacity in the north, improve confidence in grain handling standards and support a more coordinated national reserve structure. Add the mobile storage units and the ongoing regional inspections, and the signal is clear: the institutions responsible for safeguarding food stocks are moving to tighten the chain from storage to supply.

For Ghana, that is not a minor administrative update. It is a practical step toward a sturdier food security system.