The Ghana Warehouse Receipt System: A Potential Model for West Africa

The conference was organized by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and brought together experts and stakeholders from West Africa to discuss the potential of the Ghana Warehouse Receipt System (WRS) as a model for the region. The report highlights the importance of building a supportive public policy framework for the establishment of sustainable warehouse receipt systems. It notes that the absence of such a framework has prevented past WRS initiatives from prospering, and that the current policy framework in Ghana is more favorable. The report recommends that private stakeholders engage the government in policy dialogue through strong and independent national bodies, such as the Ghana Grains Council (GGC). The report also emphasizes the need to build professionalism and confidence in warehousing, which is essential for depositors and financiers to see warehouse receipts as secure collateral. It suggests that this can be achieved by ensuring the involvement of competent and experienced people in running warehouses and establishing rigorous systems of regulation accountable to banks and other key stakeholders. The report identifies various approaches to warehouse receipting and inventory credit, including public warehousing, private warehousing, and farmer-focused models. It notes that each of these approaches has its pros and cons and may be more or less suitable depending on the local context. The report also highlights the need for continued learning and pragmatism in integrating farmers into the value chain. Feedback from country work groups emphasized the need for further investment in warehouses, improvements in management and maintenance, and clarification of ownership of community warehouses. Government support was seen as mainly focused on agricultural production, but it was recommended that more attention be given to marketing and storage. Ad-hoc export bans were identified as a major market uncertainty, particularly in Togo. The report also highlights the need for better coordination between producer organizations, traders, microfinance institutions, banks, insurers, and government to develop national warehouse receipt systems. Several country groups mentioned the need for a thorough review of the legal framework surrounding warehousing in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) region. Better market information systems (MIS) were also seen as essential to support the development of the WRS. The Nigerian group discussed the benefits of a national WRS, while the Senegalese group called for the establishment of a Grain Council and a WRS pilot in the Senegal River basin. Participants from Mali, Burkina Faso, and Nigeria emphasized the need to train producers and their organizations in literacy, cooperative organization, and management. The report concludes that the Ghana Warehouse Receipt System has the potential to be a model for West Africa, but that it requires a supportive public policy framework, professionalism, and confidence in warehousing, as well as better coordination and investment in warehouses and management.