Ghana's self-sufficiency ratio in rice production increases

Accra, July 18, GNA- Rice import figures for years 2000, 2001 and 2002 indicates that Ghana's self-sufficiency ratio in rice production has improved to about 58 percent as a result of government's intervention policy during the period. The percentage increases within the last two years was due to government's objective of reducing rice import by 30 percent by the year 2004, resulting in an increase of local production of rice in the country.

The Minister of Food and Agriculture, Major Courage Quarshigah said this in Parliament on Friday in an answer to a question as to how much rice was imported from 2000 to 2002 and his ministry's policy to reduce rice importation. He said in 2000 government imported 150,000 metric tons of rice and 148,000 metric tons in 2001 whilst in 2002 the figure dropped to 120,000 metric tons indicating a reduction by 28,000 metric tons from the previous year. Figures for domestic rice production for the same period was 150,000, 152,000, and 168,000 metric tons respectively.

Major Quarshigah mentioned some of the government's policy directives as the adoption of selected rice varieties, timely supply of fertilisers and agro-chemicals, provision of good mills to rice processors and rehabilitation of existing irrigation facilities to increase production especially at Afife, Kpong, Vea and Tono sites. He also mentioned government's support to identify private rice brokers through credit from Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) to purchase rice for milling and marketing and the putting in place of a scheme to supply government institutions with local rice instead of using government's subvention to purchase imported rice. "The creation of public awareness that local rice is equally good if not better in terms of freshness as compared to the imported rice some of which are kept for over ten years before exported into the country, are also some of the measures", he said.