The government has directed the National Food Buffer Stock Company (NAFCO) to release 50,000 bags of grain to settle Ghana’s outstanding obligation to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

The Minister of Food and Agriculture, Eric Opoku, who announced the directive issued by President John Dramani Mahama, said the obligation arose from a 2018 grain borrowing arrangement to support the School Feeding Programme.

Speaking at the Annual General Meeting of NAFCO, he said the company currently had 20,433 metric tonnes of grains in storage, sufficient to support the repayment.

“We have been able to procure more than enough to pay back what we borrowed,” he said.

Mr Opoku said the development reflected improved domestic agricultural production under the Feed Ghana Programme, with Ghana producing 4.6 million tonnes of maize in 2025, against an estimated national demand of 3.6 million tonnes, suggesting a surplus of one million tonnes.

The Minister also reported an improvement in NAFCO’s financial performance, with the company moving from a net loss of 19 billion cedis in 2024 to a net profit of 91.7 billion cedis before tax in 2025, according to its qualitative account submitted to the State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA).

Its gross profit margin also increased from 1.61 per cent in 2024 to 13.96 per cent in 2025, he noted.

Mr Opoku attributed the progress to improved management and efforts to sustain its operations.

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company, George Abradu-Otoo, explained that the company had strengthened its auditing, procurement and food safety functions.

“Before I assumed office, there was no audit department, and people were doing what they liked,” he said.

“We have controlled expenditure, and so if you incur costs and there is no value, I will not pay.”

The CEO said work was ongoing to ensure that every district in Ghana had a warehouse for food storage.