Hence, food items will be delivered to various schools by suppliers contracted by the Buffer Stock Company for the first term of the academic year.

Non- perishable food items will be supplied to boarding schools through the Buffer Stock Company under the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to ensure smooth implementation of the Free SHS Policy.

The Buffer Stock Company has been contracted to serve as an interface between suppliers and schools with the sole aim of ensuring quality and providing standardised food products to promote local content.

The list of food items supplied to schools is in strict adherence to the agreed national menu for schools.

The Government’s engagement with the Buffer Stock Company is to ensure that the various senior high schools in the country are supplied with locally produced food items in order to create a ready market for local farmers.

Fifty contracts from various suppliers to various senior high schools were cancelled by the Ghana National Food Buffer Stock due to non-performance of those suppliers.

This action was taken to ensure that Buffer Stock does not compromise in terms of the timeliness of its delivery.

Presenting the cheque to the CEO of Buffer Stock Company, the Coordinator of the Free SHS Programme, Mr William Antwi Darkwah called on Heads of Schools and suppliers to submit their returns to expedite efforts to clear all payments.

The Deputy Food and Agriculture Minister, George Oduro, told Parliament last year that the National Buffer Stock Company had put in place measures to purchase harvested farm produce from farmers signed onto the Planting for Food and Jobs programme in connection to implementing government’s flagship programme, Free SHS.

The programme is expected to be rolled out in all 216 districts of the country and will involve the supply of farm resources such as high yielding and improved seedlings to participating farmers.

The government said the programme will create some 750,000 jobs and would motivate farmers to grow staple foods such as maize, millet, and beans.