Govt affirms support for local rice production
President John Dramani Mahama has affirmed the government’s resolve to support local rice farmers to produce sufficient rice to meet the country’s demands.
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He said the aim was to save the country from spending $500 million yearly on rice importation.
President Mahama made the pledge in a speech read on his behalf by the Chief Director of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Mrs Angela Dadson, at the opening of a three-day rice festival in Accra last Friday.
The festival, organised by the Ghana Rice Inter-Professional Body (GRIB) and the Rice Advocacy Council at the Efua Sutherland Children’s Park, was to promote competition in the local rice industry and encourage Ghanaians to patronise locally produced rice.
Farmers, processors and service providers mounted stands at the park to market varieties of rice and rice processing machines.
President Mahama said the government did not see rice as only a food crop to reduce hunger but also recognised it as a potential area to contribute to the national economy.
He said the economy would benefit greatly “if the about $500 million spent yearly to import rice will stay in our economy.”
Government interventions
President Mahama said the government, in collaboration with some organisations, had initiated interventions, such as the Export Trade, Agricultural and Industrial Development Fund (EDAIF) Rice Fund to help address financial challenges for the private sector.
Also, he said the government was working on rehabilitating some of the old dams to increase efficiency in rice production.
Increased patronage of local rice
President Mahama said rice had become an important staple in the country due to increasing per capita rice consumption over the past years.
Rice is the second largest cereal consumed after maize in Ghana and has become a common feature in Ghanaian diets.
President Mahama said improved packaging, absence of stones and chaff and the cultivation of varieties similar to those of imported rice had increased the preference for rice grown in Ghana.
That, he said, had created opportunities for citizens to invest in the rice sector to create jobs and wealth.
JAK Kufuor Foundation
Former President John Agyekum Kufuor, whose speech was also read on his behalf, said the country had the potential to produce enough rice to feed the citizenry.
He said the John Agyekum Kufuor Foundation was ready to collaborate with the government to promote local rice production.
The President of GRIB, Mr Amoro Imoro, said GRIB’s main agenda for 2016 was to set up 10 rice business centres in highly concentrated rice producing areas in the country.
That intervention, he said, was to address the problem of low productivity along the rice value chain.
The Chairman of the Rice Advocacy Council, Mr Harold Ntorinkansah, charged the media to lead the crusade in promoting the patronage of local rice.