Stakeholders are calling for a deliberate national policy and stricter enforcement measures to boost domestic rice production and consumption as Ghana pushes toward rice self-sufficiency and improved food security.
One proposal under consideration is the introduction of a dedicated day each week for the consumption of locally produced rice to encourage demand and support the growth of the domestic rice industry. The initiative would mirror existing national campaigns that promote local foods, such as the recently introduced Wednesday Fugu Day.
Speaking at a breakfast meeting and policy dialogue in Accra to promote the ‘Eat Ghana Rice Campaign’, stakeholders emphasised that achieving self-sufficiency in rice will depend not only on increasing production but also on strengthening domestic consumption.
The meeting, held under the theme “Promoting Ghana Rice Consumption for National Food Security and Economic Growth,” brought together policymakers, industry players and development partners to discuss strategies for expanding Ghana’s rice value chain.
The Senior Program Officer for Inclusive Markets and Trade at the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), Sunil Dahiya, said Ghana’s rice sector must focus on stimulating demand for locally produced rice to sustain growth in the industry.
The future of Ghana’s rice industry is not just about what we produce but what we consume. Rice is an important staple that needs to be promoted across the entire value chain,” he said.
Dahiya noted that AGRA, which marks its 20th anniversary this year, has invested more than US$40 million in various rice development projects in Africa since its inception.
He also stressed the need for consistent quality standards, calling for increased investment in modern processing machinery to improve rice quality from production through processing and packaging.
If we want to compete, we must be consistent with quality standards. Quality is a must—every Ghanaian deserves quality food, including rice,” he said.
The Vice Chairman of the Competitive African Rice Platform (CARP-Ghana), Fred Kukubor, said the ‘Eat Ghana Rice Campaign’ represents a call to highlight the potential of the local rice industry. “As a country, we have the arable land and resources to produce rice in the volumes we require. What we need is the necessary infrastructure and support to scale up production,” he said.
Kukubor added that locally produced rice has improved significantly in recent years in terms of quality and packaging, and the focus should now shift to promoting it more aggressively in the domestic market. “What remains is to place greater spotlight on Ghana rice so that consumers will see it as their first choice at the point of sale,” he said.
A farmer, Sewu Kwadzo Abortta, said the entire rice value chain—from financing to packaging—requires significant reforms to improve current conditions and enable local farmers to compete with imports from countries such as China and Vietnam.
According to him, Ghanaian farmers need stronger support to increase productivity, particularly through lower production costs and greater access to modern farming equipment.
Ghanaian farmers need support to produce higher yields. This can only be achieved if the cost of production is reasonable and competitive, especially with regard to fertiliser prices and access to affordable machinery to reduce the intensity of labour in domestic rice production,” he said.
Abortta also highlighted the need for affordable financing for farmers, noting that existing credit models and prevailing interest rates remain unfavourable for agricultural producers. “We need affordable financing. The current credit models and interest rates are unfavourable. Farm inputs must also be subsidised. A 50kg bag of fertiliser selling for about GH¢450 cannot make farmers competitive,” he said.
He added that mechanisation services are also costly, indicating that farmers pay about GH¢750 to hire a combine harvester for an acre of rice farm.
Abortta further called for reforms in land acquisition and tenure systems to make them more flexible and business-oriented for farmers. “How can farmers be competitive when landowners lease farmland on a yearly basis? It becomes difficult to plan long-term investments under such a land tenure system,” he noted.
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