Agric Minister Understudies NPA’s Operations

The Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr. Bryan Acheampong, has visited the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) to understudy the operations at the Command Centre in monitoring and tracking the fuel supply chain.

He indicated that he wanted to understand the operations at the Command Centre and replicate them in the food supply chain.

Welcoming the Minister, the NPA Chief Executive, Dr. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, briefed him on the operations at the Command Centre, and the fuel marking programme in monitoring the supply of petroleum products across the country and ensuring the integrity of fuel products.

He also spoke about the activities of the Unified Petroleum Price Fund (UPPF) to create a level playing field for petroleum transporters and ensure uniform pricing of petroleum products across the country.

Dr. Abdul-Hamid explained that the NPA through the UPPF paid transporters of petroleum products based on volume and distance.

He said the Bulk Road Vehicle (BRV) Tracking Scheme allowed the Authority to track the movement of every tanker across the country to prevent diversion.

He indicated that there was a system for preventing the tampering of the seals on the tankers.

Besides, the NPA Boss said the fuel marking programme ensured the integrity of fuel products while an automatic system is also in place to give an account of the volume of products in tankers.

After the meeting, the Minister and his team visited the Command Centre, where the UPPF Coordinator, Mr. Jacob Amuah, took them through the use of the BRV tracking scheme to monitor the supply of petroleum products across the country.

In his closing comments, Dr. Acheampong said the adoption of the NPA’s Command Centre’s tracking technology would help the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to track the stock of maize and other farm produce.

The Ministry could also know whether farmers have started planting and follow what is happening to the produce of farmers.