Ghana to stop importing rice by 2022-2023 crop season – Deputy Agric Minister

Deputy Minister of Agriculture, George Boahen Oduro, has promised that Government of Ghana will stop the importation of rice into the country by the end of the 2022/2023 crop season.

“Since the lockdown, we have not imported any rice, we are only consuming our local rice and the ones that were locked up in the system…the government bought the 600,000 metric tonnes of Ghana rice, we are now giving a seed of 11000 tonnes to our farmers…,” he said.

Speaking on Angel 102.9FM’s Morning Show, Mr Oduro was confident the country will achieve this because of the huge investments that the Nana Akufo-Addo government has made in that sector.

“I can assure you that by 2022/2023 crop year, Ghana will not be importing rice into the country again…,” he said on the show hosted by Captain Smart.

He said the government under the Planting for Food and Jobs Porgramme (PFJ) has initiated several policies that are helping rice farmers a lot.

The policies he added, include helping with the packaging of Ghana rice to make it more attractive.

“The country from now till then will still be importing rice but at a reduced number…,” he said.

He said that the government as part of measures to achieve this aim has increased the number of seeds that it gives to farmers in the sector.