Brewing Guinness from local sorghum

From this year on Guinness Ghana Ltd will start using locally produced sorghum and maize in brewing its flagship drink, Guinness Stout. That is if plans by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) to promote the use of local materials in the brewery industry are implemented to the letter.

The issue of using locally produced sorghum in the production of Guinness and other drinks in Ghana was one the most significant issues raised last Tuesday when the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Major Courage Quashigah took his turn at the meet-the press series in Accra.


Quashigah said last year his ministry provided funds for the purchase of four tons of sorghum seeds for distribution to participating farmers in the Guinness Sorghum Project in the Northern Region, Upper West and East Regions.


Consequently a total of 2,800 tons of sorghum grain was produced in 2002 for Guinness Ghana Ltd to experiment the use of local sorghum in the brewing of Guinness. Elsewhere, sorghum and maize have been successfully experimented in the brewery industry. Why it has not dawned on Ghana to promote the use of these cereals in brewing is yet to be answered. Rice is also heavily used in the brewing industry in the industrialized countries. Sadly, Ghana is a net importer of rice for domestic consumption. The large-scale importation of rice effectively rules out the possibility of industries using rice, unless local production is increased.


Breweries


The brewery industry is one of the few thriving sectors in the country currently, but over the years brewery companies have spent millions of dollars in importing much of it raw materials for brewing, inspite of the fact that the country has all the land and water resources to produce sorghum for the breweries.


According to information from MOFA’s handbook, Accra Brewery Ltd has in the last 12 months used 2500 tons of locally processed maize grits, which represents about 5,000 tons of maize in brewing. “This has resulted in foreign exchange savings of about $1.0 million”, states the handbook. Sorghum is already used in producing ‘Pito’, a local equivalent of beer in the north. In the past one company attempted to produce pito in commercial quantity, starting with the ‘Tiger Pito’ brand, which caught on well with the public. But, like other local industries that could not stand competition, the company folded up within a short period of operation.

Figures from the Ministry of Economic Planning and Regional Cooperation show that the three northern regions are among four regions where poverty is very pervasive. The other region is the Central Region. The regions constitute a significant 22 percent of Ghana’s total population, yet past development efforts failed to integrate the regions into the national development strategy. Maize and sorghum are the two most cultivated and largely consumed crops in the three regions. Sadly, farmers in the regions have hardly produced food enough for their domestic needs for three reasons. Firstly, they still use old methods and antiquated implements in farming. Secondly, they still depend on rain-fed agriculture. And with no credit and subsidy they have been compelled to reduce their acreages.


Worse still, the regions have only one raining season for farming activities. After this follows the long dry season, during which they do nothing. That is why the ministry has to, as a matter of national priority speed up the rehabilitation of irrigation projects in the area. There is no doubt that giving the farmers the necessary logistics to produce for the breweries has the potential to reduce poverty and improve the standard of living in the regions.


Problem


How to match their domestic food requirements with the new venture to produce sorghum and maize for the breweries remains the problem. That raises the question about food security. Over the years the regions have moved from one year of food sufficiency to another of food shortage. The disclosure by Major Quashigah that last year the country recorded food surpluses for some staples apart from millet (sorghum) supports the fear of whether these subsistence farmers would be able to supply sorghum to the breweries on sustainable basis.


The fear of supply side constraints raises fresh questions of providing credit or subsidy for farmers. But will the financial institutions heed the national cry to assist farmers? The lending trend in the past shows that agriculture receives less lending from the commercial banks. Because they are risk-averse, commercial banks prefer to lend to importers rather than the productive sector. Due to the unwillingness of the banks to lend to the vulnerable in society, rights groups like the Integrated Social Development Centre (ISODEC) are planning to lobby parliament to make some form of legislation to compel banks to lend to the poor. Quashigah talks about the disbursement of a total of ?112 million by ADB to 141 women last year and another ?29.3 billion disbursed by various banks to farmers to support maize and rice production. That sounds encouraging, but is that enough?