The Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the National Food Buffer Stock Company has acknowledged that while the supply of non-perishable food items to secondary schools remains stable, ongoing challenges with perishable goods continue to disrupt meal provision in some schools.
Osmond Amuah, speaking, said the situation is gradually improving but is yet to be fully resolved.
“We are just happy, from a Buffer Stock perspective, that this matter seems to be finding a solution,” he said, pointing to recent interventions aimed at stabilising the system.
He explained that the main difficulty lies in the procurement of perishable items such as vegetables, which are handled directly by schools rather than the Buffer Stock system.
“At the head of the matter is perishables, which the schools themselves procure,” he noted, contrasting this with the structured arrangement for non-perishable items, where the Buffer Stock Company and the Ghana Commodity Exchange play supporting roles.
According to him, the Buffer Stock Company supplies about 18 categories of non-perishable goods, including both packaged and raw food items. Although state-owned, the organisation operates as a limited liability company and relies on private sector financing to ensure steady deliveries.
“We’ve been able to bridge finance for the private sector to do the deliveries on your behalf,” he said, explaining that suppliers can hold stock without immediate pressure since the items do not spoil.
However, he stressed that the same flexibility does not apply to fresh produce.
“However, you cannot cook when you don’t have vegetables,” Mr Amuah said, highlighting the real impact on school feeding.
He pointed to delays in payments for perishable goods as a key factor affecting supply continuity.
“Whatever problems that persist… due to the lack of payment for perishables that they’ve already consumed, it means the students cannot feed,” he said, adding that students must remain central to all policy decisions.
Mr Amuah rejected suggestions that the delays were intentional, describing them instead as the result of structural and regulatory bottlenecks.
“I do not think that the delay in perishables is deliberate on anybody’s part,” he said, citing procurement processes and audit requirements.
He also noted that rising enrolment in secondary schools is putting additional pressure on the system.
“The student population at the secondary level is growing… the enrolment of SS1 alone is in excess of 300,000 students,” he said, adding that funding levels have struggled to keep pace with increasing demand.