Low capital affects rice production

Prairie Volta Limited (PVL), formerly Quality Grain Project (QGP), rice producers at Aveyime in the North Tongu District, is facing challenges due to low capital inflow.

The company is also not getting support from the government, Nana Atto Dadzie, PVL Board Chairman said when members of the Council of State, who were on a familiarization tour of major farm plantations in Lower Volta Basin, visited the company.

He said the funding history of the company, its associates “and the huge bad press, remain a hangover on the health of investment into it”.

Nana Atto Dadzie said the company had been seeking an injection of some $6 million-$18 million fresh capital the past few years without success.

“The state of equipment PVL inherited from QGP is as old as 15-20 years and cannot support the firm’s current 250 hectares under plantation,” he said.

Nana Atto Dadzie said currently PVL produces 10% of the country’s annual rice needs and has the capacity to increase to it to 50% when the needed recapitalization is got.

He said with its 60,000-tonne capacity rice mill, PVL, using the out-grower system as well, could increase production to about 5000 hectares.

Mr. Kojo Osae-Addo, PVL General Manager, said the erratic power supply is also a huge challenge.

Mrs. Cecilia Johnson, Council Chairman, said that something needed to be done to enable the company increase production.

She said the government was doing everything to shore up local production to help reduce rice imports.