Rice has become the second most important staple food after maize in Ghana, research has shown.
Its consumption keeps increasing as a result of population growth, urbanization and change in consumer habits.
In view of this, the nation’s value of rice imports escalated eight-fold – from US$152million in 2007 to a peak of US$1.2billion in both 2014 and 2015. In the same period, the volume of rice imports climbed from 441,000 metric tonnes to 630,000 metric tonnes. Currently, Ghana imports 331 million dollars of rice annually.
Recently the call for the consumption of Ghana made rice has made the headlines on social and traditional media.
As a result of this, International Trade Focus visited the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to inquire about the current state of rice production in farming.
Minister of State in charge of Agriculture, Dr Jule Nura insists there has been massive progress in the production of rice in the country.
Speaking on government’s marketing role, he said the president has directed that all schools, police service, prisons service, military, and all citizens are supposed to consume Ghana’s local rice.
Dr Jule Nura lamented that despite the government’s efforts to market the country’s local rice, some Ghanaians are still used to the foreign taste.
He said that is affecting government’s drive towards marketing local rice.
Dr Jule Nura added that the Ministry, at the moment has no intention of exporting Ghana’s local rice but will, sooner than later, stop the high level of rice import into the country.
Touching on complaints by rice farmers on the lack of storage facilities for their rice production, he said the complaints are not in relation to the lack of storage facilities, but rather the effects of rains and lack of machines to harvest their rice.
Dr Jule Nura said the government is working on solving the problems ” we are actually doing our best to tackle all these issues”