Ghana: Rice farmers call for ready market and reduced imports as rice rots in storage
Rice farmers in Ghana’s Asutuare and Akuse communities say thousands of bags remain unsold in warehouses for two years, threatening livelihoods and loan repayments. They urged the government to curb imports and buy surplus produce. NPP flagbearer Bawumia pledged subsidies and agricultural support.
Rice farmers in Asutuare and its surrounding communities are appealing to the government for intervention as large quantities of their harvested produce go to waste due to the lack of a ready market. According to the distressed farmers, thousands of bags of harvested rice have remained locked up in warehouses over the past two years with no buyers in sight.
This prolonged inability to sell their yields has severely crippled their financial stability, threatened their primary source of livelihood, and made it difficult for them to repay loans or reinvest in the next farming season.
These concerns were brought to the forefront during a visit by the flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.
Dr. Bawumia began his tour with an inspection of some rice farms in Akuse, located within the Lower Manya Krobo Municipal District of the Eastern Region. He later on held an interactive engagement session with the local farmers in Asutuare, within the Shai-Osudoku District of the Greater Accra Region.
During the engagement, the farmers made a passionate appeal to the government to immediately step in and mop up the excess produce currently sitting in storage.
The farmers who operate under the Asutuare-Akuse Irrigation Scheme emphasized that the influx of imported rice continues to outcompete local varieties, urging policymakers to implement stricter controls and reduce rice importation.
According to the farmers, curbing imports and prioritizing local consumption are critical steps toward revitalizing the domestic rice industry, ensuring food security, and protecting local agribusinesses from total collapse.
Dr. Bawumia who acknowledged the need for the country to take proactive steps to address this persistent problem, pledged his support to revamp the agricultural sector when given the nod.
Outlining his economic vision, Dr. Bawumia pledged that an NPP government led by him would make agricultural development the cornerstone of its national agenda.
He indicated that his administration would prioritize the restoration of farm input subsidies to lower production costs for farmers, alongside introducing stronger, targeted interventions to assist local food producers in scaling up yields and strengthening the country’s agricultural value chain.
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Source: GBC Ghana Online
