Free SHS, School Feeding Programme will provide ready market for farmers - Opoku Bobie

Minister-Designate for the Brong Ahafo Region, Evans Opoku Bobie has expressed optimism about the availability of a ready market for farmers in the region with the introduction of two of government’s intervention policies; Free Senior High School and School Feeding program policies.

The School Feeding Program is a continuing investment that nourishes children and decreases food insecurity while contributing to the achievement of the first four SDGs and the Free SHS is government’s policy which began in September 2017 gives every child who qualifies for the Senior High School access to free tuition, admission fee, textbooks, library fees, science center fees, fees for ICT, examination fee, payment of utility fee, boarding and meals.

Speaking at his vetting Friday October 26, 2018, Evans Opoku Bobie was confident that challenges farmers face with the sale of their farm products to a ready market will be addressed. According to him, negotiations with the secretariats in charge of these policies will enable that farmers can channel their produce to be used in the preparation of meals for the various schools especially in the Brong Ahafo Region.

“It is a fact that when you come to Agricultural value chain, what is missing is the marketing and so with the coming of the buffer company, that problem has been resolved in Brong Ahafo Region but going forward, I think that now that we have the school feeding program in place, we have the Free Senior High School in place, when approved by this committee, I am going to link the farmers to the school feeding secretariat and the Free Senior High School so that when they produce their yam, their beans, there will be ready market for them”, he said.



The Brong Ahafo Region is acclaimed as the food basket of the country because of the amount of foodstuffs that are produced in the region and transported to other regions. Majority of the population in the region are engaged in agriculture. These farmers are engaged mostly in crop farming, livestock rearing, fish farming and tree growing; and produce a substantial quantity of food to feed people in the region and beyond.

There however have been challenges with the sale of their produce to avoid rot and waste.