Work by the newly
formed Ghana Grains Council is helping to transform the country’s grain market.
Farmers are given the ability to obtain more affordable loans against the
collateral of their grain, and food processors are better able to compete
internationally, thanks to a cleaner, higher quality raw material.
Working with farmers in Ghana’s Northern, Upper
West and Upper East regions, Premium Foods Ltd processes maize for Ghanaian
breweries and for export. When it began trading in 1994, the company only
bought grain that had been inspected by its officers after harvest. Yet a
foolproof quality system could not be achieved, with harvested grains often
contaminated with stones and metal particles.
Over recent years, the Government of Ghana has
formulated several policies geared towards creating a supportive environment
for the local grain industry. But clear ownership among targeted beneficiaries
had been lacking.
However, with the establishment of the Ghana
Grains Council (GGC) the situation has improved significantly. Incorporated in
2010, following a study by USAID which recommended establishing a private
sector entity to improve competitiveness in the sector, the Council is mandated
to represent the interests of private sector operators in Ghana’s grain
industry.
“GGC came in at the right time,” says Prince
Andoh, officer-in-charge of purchasing at Premium Foods. “What they are doing
helps us as end-users because if we mill stones, it damages our machinery and
this works against our competitiveness in the export market,” he explains.
The Council is keen on developing and enforcing
standards to bring about competitiveness in the sector - achieving this mainly
through the establishment of a warehouse receipt system. “Whether you are
involved in production, trading or warehousing, we believe that working in an
association like the GGC gives you a bigger platform to enhance what you’re
doing,” says Dr Kadri Alfah, GGC chief executive officer.
A marked improvement
The GGC’s target groups cut across the grain value
chain, and include producers, processors, warehouse operators, financial
institutions and other service providers. According to processors, the
introduction of minimum standards and grain grades (colour, level of disease,
insect damage), and the establishment of the warehouse receipt system are the
Council’s most significant interventions. “Once there is grading, it makes our
work easier,” says Andoh. “In the end we get the quality of produce that we
expect and the challenge of sorting grains containing foreign matter is all in
the past.”
Initial challenges for the GGC included explaining
the mandate of the Council and ensuring that interventions on warehouse
certification and pre- and post-harvest training actually reached the target
groups, especially the farmers.
But Alfah notes that “good progress” has been made
in building a broad membership base, and through partnerships with USAID and the
Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, a network of farmers has now been
trained on best practices in grain handling and storage.
Farmer sensitisation sessions have also helped
improve the industry: farmers are now conscious of producing premium quality
grain and adhering to standards to obtain a premium price for their produce.
“If you have good quality, you have a good market,” notes Alhaji Zakaria
Alhassan, director of Gundaa Produce Company, a grain trading company in
Tamale.
With 25 years of experience in the business of
producing and marketing grains, he understands that lack of storage facilities
increases postharvest losses and constrains the income levels of small-scale
food producers. “The farmers don’t know where to store the maize; some of them
are storing in their houses, and when they’re ready to sell, often the maize
has rotted,” he says.
A win-win situation
Today, over 3,000 smallholder farmers under the
GGC in the Northern Region have more control over the weighing and pricing of
their produce with the establishment of a 500 t GGC certified warehouse for
grain storage, funded by USAID. “Two months after establishment, the warehouse
is currently full of maize,” says Zakaria.
With the establishment of the warehouse, farmers’
grain is cleaned, packaged and stored under the warehouse receipt system. While
the GGC, under a project that was supported by the Common Fund for Commodities,
currently works with only four commercial banks – the Agricultural Development
Bank, Ecobank, CCH Finance and Stanbic
Bank - the system is expected to help build confidence
amongst financial institutions to invest in agricultural enterprises.
Zakaria believes that more financial institutions
need to come on board to sustain funding for the scheme.
In pursuit of its mandate to increase quality,
productivity and profitability in the grain value chain, the GGC has engaged
the Ghana Standards Authority and other bodies in reviewing existing standards
for major grains, including maize, rice, soya beans and sorghum.
Alfah describes the GGC’s collaboration with the public
sector as a win-win situation, especially as a means to upscale the warehouse
receipt system. However, he notes that the Council wants to remain an
autonomous private entity. “To function as an entity, GGC has its own
sustainability plans and revenue generation plan, so that it can stand on its
own, with or without donor support,” he says.
Story by Kofi Adu
Domfeh
(Article originally commissioned for the
Special Issue of CTA’s Spore magazine http://spore.cta.int/en/).
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