Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer for the 2028 elections, has broken his silence on the difficulties confronting Ghanaian farmers who are unable to sell their produce after harvesting.
The NPP flagbearer described the situation as really troubling and unacceptable.
According to Dr Bawumia, farmers who invest significant resources into production should not be left with unsold produce.
Dr Bawumia made the remarks on Friday, September 11, 2026, when he met the leadership of the National Seed Trade Association of Ghana (NASTAG) in Accra as part of his stakeholder policy consultations.
He stated, “It is really troubling and unacceptable that we have a situation where farmers cannot sell their produce after investing and putting in so much effort. This is not only a disincentive to farmers, but it also negatively impacts agriculture”.
The association further raised concerns about regulatory gaps in the National Seed Policy; they alleged hijacking of public seed procurement by what it described as “political seed merchants”, as well as infrastructure challenges affecting the sector.
They further raised concerns over the massive importation of food commodities including maize, rice and soybeans which has flooded the local market.
Dr Bawumia pledged that his administration would introduce sweeping reforms aimed at protecting local farmers and strengthening Ghana’s food sovereignty.
“I am very committed to agriculture. It is the key to our development, and we must put in the resources to help grow the sector. We have to benefit from what is happening in other countries, learn what research has worked in our environment, and be prepared to invest in it,” he stated.
Meanwhile, President John Mahama has revealed plans to establish a maize processing plant in the Sissala area of the Upper West Region to help address the persistent glut affecting maize farmers.
Mahama noted that the facility would provide a ready market for farmers while processing maize for domestic consumption and export.
Speaking on Saturday, September 12, during a citizens’ engagement at the University of Business and Integrated Development Studies in the Upper West Region as part of his Resetting Ghana Tour, Mahama stated, “We are going to set up a maize processing plant in the Sissala area. The plant will not only buy the maize, but it will also process the maize for the market and for export, and so I believe that this glut will become a thing of the past.”
He also announced plans to increase funding for the National Food Buffer Stock Company to allow it to purchase more surplus maize from farmers.
“Aside from that, we are increasing the amount of money that we are giving to Buffer Stock to off-take the excess maize. The problem that the Buffer Stock has had is that they don’t have enough storage, so when they buy some maize, their warehouses are all full, and they have nowhere to keep the excess maize, and so we are building silos for them in all their storage centres”, he stated.
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