More than 1.3 million metric tonnes of paddy rice are stuck in warehouses due to the lack of buyers, the leadership of the Rice Producers Association and the Apex Farmers Association have disclosed.
This, they said, included over 200,000 metric tonnes of paddy rice from the 2024 harvest season in warehouses across the Upper East, Northern, and North East regions.
Similarly, the National Rice Development data has projected that the country’s harvest for 2025 will hit 1.5 million metric tonnes, an increase from 1.3 million in 2024.
According to a statement issued by the Committee for the Promotion of Local Rice and Other Commodities and copied to The Ghanaian Times, already this year significant volumes have been harvested — with 300,000 metric tonnes in the Upper East, 400,000 metric tonnes in North East, 300,000 metric tonnes in the Northern Region, 50,000 metric tonnes in Savannah, 20,000 metric tonnes in Upper West, and 100,000 metric tonnes in the Volta Region — all locked away without buyers.
Consequently, the Committee has demanded the suspension of importation of foreign rice for six months, as well as tightened border controls, effective this November.
They have also called for the development of a medium to long-term importation strategy based on national production capacity, which allows only limited imports to cover shortfalls, while gradually phasing out imports altogether.
Furthermore, they make a case for the government to mandate all public institutions, such as schools, hospitals, prisons, and security services, to procure exclusive Ghana rice and maize from local farmers and millers.
The Committee also wants government to instruct the Ministry of Finance to, as a matter of urgency, release substantial funds for the National Food Buffer Stock Company (NAFCO) to purchase surplus maize and rice to reduce glut on the market, as well as introduce a guaranteed minimum price for rice and maize to protect farmers from exploitation.
Failure to do this, the Committee said, they would boycott the 2025 Farmer’s Day celebration across all levels in the country.
“This unprecedented decision reflects the deep frustration of farmers over the worsening crisis in Ghana’s food production sector, particularly among rice, maize, and soya producers,” the statement said.
The Committee said despite repeated government assurances, including a public statement issued on September 23 this year promising that every grain of rice and maize will be purchased through NAFCO, farmers were still waiting, stressing that “No action has been taken and the situation has left many producers unable to sell their harvest.”
“Meanwhile, markets across the country are being flooded with cheap, expired, and smuggled imported rice, often backed by politically connected cartels. These actors benefit from government contracts and repackage expired imports, brought in through unapproved borders, without paying the necessary taxes. Such practices are crippling Ghanaian farmers, who cannot sell at competitive prices and are being driven into debt and bankruptcy.”
Members of the committee who have endorsed the boycott include: Association of Rice Producers and Millers, Chamber of Agribusiness, Association of Soya Value Chain Actors, Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana (PFAG), Ghana National Association of Farmers and Fishermen (GNAFF), General Agricultural Workers Union (GAWU), Crop Life Ghana, Ghana Rice Inter-Professional Body (GRIB), National Seed Trade Association of Ghana (NASTAG), Millers and Processors Associations, Traders and Market Women Associations, and Association of Parboiled Rice Millers.
BY TIMES REPORTER
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The post 1.3m metric tonnes paddy rice locked up …for lack of market appeared first on Ghanaian Times.
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