The goal of making Ghanaian rice sufficient by 2023/2024 is on track – Agric Minister

Rice is one of the main staple foods consumed in Ghana, but in which the country is food insecure with consumption exceeding national production and more than half of the rice consumed being imported.

The economic costs of dependence on imported rice are high and increasing.

Ghana has set an ambitious target of ending rice imports by the 2023/24 crop year. During his tour of the Volta region, Agriculture Minister Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto visited a local rice factory in Sogakope and explained that the target is on track.

Ghana imports more than $ 200 million worth of rice per year. It is a development that the actors qualified as worrying.

As part of his tour of the Volta region, to see first-hand the challenges plaguing the country’s agricultural sector and have a personal interaction with farmers, the agricultural minister visited one of the largest rice factories local.

At the factory, he reiterated the government’s desire to completely reduce the country’s rice imports by 2023.

According to Dr Owusu Akoto Afriyie, he is convinced that Ghana can achieve its goal of self-sufficiency in rice.

“We are increasingly encouraging such factories to be built around. As I speak to you, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture in anticipation of the rapid expansion of rice production, if you remember, we promised the people of this country that by 2023 / 24, Ghana will be self-sufficient in rice, ”he told JoyNews.

“In preparation, the biggest bottleneck is not the farmer, the soil or the seeds, it’s the crushing capacity.

Global Agri Development Company operates the rice mill which produces at least 700 25 kilogram bags of rice per day.

Company CEO Joel Tsatsu said he was also optimistic that with the right investment the goal can be achieved.

“We can have enough rice in Ghana, we are one of the big players, and there are more coming, I believe in the future we can be there.”

The company operates entirely with locally produced rice and has thus created a partnership between the company and local producers.

One of the cardinal principles of the Plant for Food and Jobs program is to ensure that the country produces what it consumes, thereby creating jobs and sustainable livelihoods and, by extension, weaning the country from dependence on imports.

While the program has had some significant success, there are still some start-up issues that need to be addressed head-on, including the availability of fertilizers and other agricultural inputs. Without it, the country’s import bill could even rise and skyrocket.

Key words: