President John Dramani Mahama has ordered all public basic and secondary schools to procure only locally produced rice, maize, chicken, and eggs, Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson announced during the 2026 Budget Statement presentation in Parliament on Thursday, November 13, 2025.
“Mr. Speaker, President Mahama has also directed all schools, from basic to secondary, to purchase rice, maize, chicken and eggs produced in Ghana only,” Dr. Forson told the House.
He added that the Ministry of Education, Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund), Ghana School Feeding Programme, Free Senior High School Secretariat, and National Food Buffer Stock Company (NAFCO) have been instructed to enforce strict compliance with the directive.
The policy according to the minister aims to boost demand for Ghanaian agricultural products, support local farmers, and strengthen food security while reducing reliance on imported poultry and grains.
Under the Ghana School Feeding Programme, which provides one hot meal daily to over 3.8 million pupils in public basic schools, and the Free SHS initiative, which caters to boarding and day students nationwide, schools will now be required to source these staples exclusively from local producers.
NAFCO is expected to play a central role in aggregating and supplying locally grown rice and maize, while the Ministry of Food and Agriculture will coordinate with poultry farmers to ensure consistent supply of eggs and chicken.
The directive the minister said aligns with the government’s broader “Ghana First” agricultural agenda, which seeks to promote import substitution, create jobs in the agro-processing value chain, and stabilise prices of essential commodities.
Education authorities have been tasked to update procurement guidelines and establish monitoring mechanisms to guarantee full adherence across all regions.
The measure is projected to inject millions of cedis into the local economy annually through institutional purchases, with implementation set to begin in the 2026 academic year.