Government has set 2022 target to achieve self-sufficiency in rice production, Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture, Kennedy Osei Nyarko, has said.
According to him, the plan is to indigenise rice production to ensure rice imports are reduced drastically.
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Ghana currently imports about $1.5 billion worth of rice which is affecting local production. The campaign to patronise made in Ghana rice gained momentum following a glut in the northern region.
But, such a situation, the Deputy Agric Minister said will be a thing of the past given the huge investments government is making in that sector.
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On Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen programme, Monday, Mr Nyarko said the strategy to make Ghana self-sufficient in rice production will include supplying farmers in selected districts across the country with improved seedlings.
He noted that the government will extend rice production from the Savanna regions to the forest parts of the country where potential for rice production has been discounted.
“If we are able to cut our imports by half, we can undertake a lot of infrastructural projects,” the Deputy Minister observed.
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He added that to avoid collapse of businesses of rice importers, the government has also engaged them to ensure they also patronise the local rice.
He disclosed that the government was in talks with Chinese investors to provide rice millers for the farmers in order to enhance productivity and achieve the target.
 “Now rice has become a staple food, therefore, the demand for rice has been rising very quickly,” he noted.
Source: Ghana|Adomonline.com|Adwoa Gyasiwaa Agyeman