Ghanaian farmers advocate for better prices and increased access to markets The Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana was established in 2005 in order to create a favourable environment for growth of small scale agriculture by advocating for pro poor agricultural policies. 

In line with Ghana’s Poverty Reduction Strategy II, the Food and Agricultural Sector Development Programme II seeks to transform agriculture and reduce poverty. To achieve agricultural transformation in an accelerated way, the Medium Term Agricultural Sector Investment Programme has been rolled out. For this the government has implemented four programmes promoting rapid increase in agricultural productivity and transformation: fertilizer and seed subsidies, mechanization centres, the block farming system and the national buffer stock scheme. It is the latter that has been established to guarantee market and minimum prices for farmers which are the main focus of this proposal. Besides guaranteeing market and prices, the scheme also aims to generate a cereal stock to meet food demands in times of shortages. The National Buffer Stock Company has been established to implement the national buffer stock scheme. 

Consultation with the PFAG’s members show that farmers are not aware of this programme. Its operations are narrow in scope, the role of the buying companies are not clear and above all, they are not advantageous to farmers when it comes to purchasing at the farm gate. Above all the guaranteed minimum price does not seem to benefit farmers.  

This project seeks to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of the Buffer Stock scheme in carrying out its mandate; to establish whether or not its price determination benefits small scale farmers. It falls within PFAG’s advocacy to call for more investment in small scale agriculture and for tracking the implementation of governmental interventions in agriculture. 

This project will involve a comprehensive participatory research that will be undertaken in cereal producing districts in the three zones of the country: the Northern, Middle and Southern Zones. Furthermore it will focus on maize and rice – both staple foods in the country that have seen production increases since 2009. Of special interest is the purchase of surplus cereals, the minimum guaranteed price mechanism and the operations of the buying companies. To sustain the lobby and advocacy capacities and to increase the participatory involvement of PFAG’s members, the Farmers Advocacy Consultation Tool will be introduced to PFAG.

This project seeks to investigate the extent to which the national buffer stock scheme is benefiting farmers or not and to use the result to advocate for changes that will benefit farmers other than the buying companies engaged by the National Buffer Stock Company to purchase the cereals from farmers.

The project broadly aims at advocacy for increasing incomes and reducing poverty among small scale farmers.  Specifically the objectives are to: 
• To establish evidence of the weaknesses of the National Buffer Stock Scheme
• Create awareness among farmers and other stakeholders on the Buffer Stock Scheme
• To use findings to advocate for improvement in the Buffer Stock Scheme 
• Solicit government’s commitment to improve the Scheme that will benefit small scale farmers. 

This will be achieved by the following activities:
• Conduct a research on the Buffer Stock Scheme;
• Organise stakeholder workshops on the Buffer Stock Scheme in the cereal producing regions of Ghana;
• Disseminate findings of the research report to all stakeholders;
• Develop a policy brief for Parliament and Policy makers;
• Hold a policy dialogue and follow ups with Policy makers.

Expected Outcomes:
• Empirical evidence of the inadequacies and challenges of Buffer Stock Scheme;
• Farmers and other stakeholders better informed about the Scheme;
• Policy alternatives developed and adopted by Policy makers and Parliament.

Small-holder farmers in Ghana benefit from price determination and market access