I will cut down rice import bill to $300m – Edward Mahama

Flagbearer of the Peoples National Convention (PNC), Dr. Edward Mahama, has promised to cut down rice import by resourcing Ghanaian farmers to produce more to meet the demands of consumers when given the nod to manage the country in 2017.

According to the PNC leader, Ghana’s current rice import bill currently stands at US$600million, an amount he said, is weighing heavily on the country’s currency.

He said once he is elected as President of the land, he will work had and ensure that the country’s rice import bill is reduced by half.

The amount saved, he noted, will be used to resource local farmers to produce more to meet the growing demands of consumers.

“Ghana was exporting rice in 1976. Today, our rice import bill is $600million. I am saying that in two years, US$300million of that money will go to Ghanaian farmers and they can build story buildings and send their children to the best schools they want,” he noted.

Dr. Edward Mahama made this observation in an exclusive interview with Kasapa News moments after paying homage to the former President of the land, John Agyekum Kufuor at his residence in Accra on Thursday.

The leader of the coconut tree family was accompanied by the party’s general scribe, Atik Mohammed, Vice Chairman, Henry Haruna Asante as well as some other national executives.

Dr. Mahama believes that Ghanaian farmers have the capacity to produce more and therefore, resourcing them would not be far-fetched.

He is hoping to double the country’s production which currently stands at 290,000 metric tons, representing about 30% of the rice it needs.

Ghana was projected by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to import 600,000 metric tons of rice between October 2014 and September 2015.