MoFA Signs €9.8m Deal for 21,000-Tonne Grain Storage Hub in Wa

The Ministry of Food and Agriculture has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with DMT Collateral Management Limited for the construction of a 21,000-tonne grain storage facility in Wa, Upper West Region, in a €9.8 million investment aimed at tackling Ghana’s chronic post-harvest losses and bolstering national food security.

The agreement, signed on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, at the Ministry in Accra, forms part of the government’s Feed Ghana Programme and marks the first phase of what Agriculture Minister Eric Opoku described as a broader national storage infrastructure expansion drive involving between 15 and 20 similar facilities across the country .

A Strategic Reserve for Emergencies

The Wa facility will operate as a Food Security Hub, incorporating an emergency grain reserve system known as the “Hospital Bin,” designed to ensure the availability of food stocks during periods of national need. DMT Collateral Management’s Managing Director, Paul Sannie Minlah, said the company would lead the technical and commercial development of the project, mobilise financing, and work with a joint project implementation committee to ensure its successful delivery .

The project’s equipment and construction component is backed by an export credit facility of approximately €4.8 million facilitated by the Danish Embassy, alongside an additional investment of about €5 million . The facility is expected to be completed and commissioned by August 2027.

Addressing a Storage Deficit

Minister Opoku explained that although the National Food Buffer Stock Company had resources to procure food from farmers, it lacked sufficient warehouse and storage capacity to accommodate the produce. He noted that despite increased production of rice and maize, inadequate storage infrastructure remained a persistent challenge .

The figures underscore the urgency. Ghana produced approximately 6.4 million tonnes of cereals in 2025, 12.3 per cent above the five-year average, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization’s Crop Prospects and Food Situation report published in July 2026 . Maize production alone reached 4.6 million tonnes in 2025 against an estimated domestic demand of 3.6 million tonnes—a theoretical surplus of one million tonnes that highlights the critical need for adequate storage to preserve harvests and stabilise markets .

Under the Feed Ghana Programme, launched in April 2025 to accelerate agricultural transformation through 2028, the government aims to increase rice silo storage capacity to 200,000 tonnes by 2028, up from a target of 50,000 tonnes in 2025. The programme also envisions ten new 1,000-tonne warehouses in sorghum-producing areas, an additional 125,000 tonnes of warehouse capacity in major soybean regions, and the rehabilitation of existing maize warehouses .

Building Local Technical Capacity

Beyond storage, the Wa facility will create training opportunities for National Service personnel, Feed Ghana Brigade members, and Ghanaian technicians. The training will focus on silo operations, grain drying, quality management, and equipment maintenance, building local expertise to support the efficient management of the facility and future installations .

Minister Opoku said the Ministry would support implementation and ensure that technical personnel, National Service personnel, and Feed Ghana Brigadiers participated in the training programmes. He urged DMT Collateral Management to commence implementation promptly to align with the Ministry’s timelines .

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Background: A Persistent Challenge

Ghana’s grain storage deficit has been a recurring constraint on agricultural productivity and farmer livelihoods. The National Food Buffer Stock Company has, in recent months, intensified efforts to secure additional storage facilities, inspecting dilapidated warehouses and engaging state institutions to expand capacity . The company’s initial rollout of the National Food Reserve Programme was hampered by inadequate funding and a shortage of suitable storage facilities, leaving many rice and maize farmers unable to sell their produce during bumper harvests .

The Wa project represents a significant private-sector-led addition to those efforts, bringing both financing and technical expertise to a problem that has long frustrated government interventions. Whether it becomes a template for the 15 to 20 facilities the Minister envisions will depend on how swiftly DMT Collateral Management moves from signing to construction—and whether the August 2027 completion target holds.