Samuel Buenor addressing journalists
Secretary to the Rice Seed Growers Association, Samuel Buenor, has stated that rice-producing farmers are burdened with the challenges of market unavailability thereby discouraging prospective investors to venture into the business.
Speaking in an interview with journalists during a visit to the Kpong Irrigation Scheme, Mr. Buenor stated that according to industry experts, the average Ghanaian consumes almost 25 kilos of rice per year, with the majority of the population shifting from traditional staple foods like yam to rice due to its faster cooking time.
However, he said local rice production cannot meet the country’s demand, with farmers struggling to compete with cheap imports.
“We cannot produce enough rice to supply the whole country for the whole year,” he said. “The government imports rice during our production season, flooding the market and making it difficult for us to sell our produce.”
He advocated for the government to provide support, including affordable inputs, labour, and equipment, emphasising the need for the government to address the issue of cheap imports, which is affecting their ability to sell their produce.
“The buffer stock initiative was supposed to help us, but it has not been effective,” Mr. Buenor said “We need a system that allows us to store our rice for longer periods, ensuring that we can sell our produce at a fair price.”
He insisted that Ghanaian rice is of better quality and taste than imported rice, but farmers are struggling to keep up with demand due to high production costs and labour shortages. “If we can store our rice for just three months, it is far better than eating the foreign rice,” he said urging the government to take action to support the local rice industry, including providing affordable inputs, labor, and equipment, and addressing the issue of cheap imports.
During a briefing session in Accra, JICA Ghana’s Chief Representative, Momoko Suzuki appealed to the government to as a matter of urgency formulate a policy that seeks to increase the rice yield of farmers.
Ms. Suzuki was worried about the increased taste for foreign rice against the locally produced ones, thereby emphasising the need for the government to formulate policies that will bridge the consumption gap.
She said on the role of JICA in supporting local rice producers, its Ghana Rice Production Improvement Project (GRIP) initiative is a testament to this successful collaboration between Japan and Ghana highlighting its potential to strengthen Ghana’s rice value chain.
She stated that supporting initiatives like GRIP will significantly contribute to food security, job creation, and overall economic growth in the country.
Ms. Suzuki acknowledged Japan’s ongoing commitment to enhancing rice production in Africa, referencing a partnership with the Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) established in 2008.
This collaboration led to the launch of the Coalition for African Rice Development (CARD), which successfully doubled Africa’s rice production from 14 million tonnes to 28 million tonnes by 2018.
She indicated that GRIP forms part of JICA’s three key projects aimed at enhancing Ghana’s economic development which includes the construction of the Tema Motorway Interchange Phase 1 and 2 and JICA Volunteers.
BY Prince Fiifi Yorke