Chairman of the Competitive Africa Rice Platform, Yaw Adu Poku, says that although Ghana produces tasty and quality rice, there is no market for the produce domestically.
Mr. Adu Poku advised the government to learn from the Nigerian experience, where there was a ban on imported rice lifted after a while.
This, he noted, deserves attention, as the consequent lifting of the ban affected crop production tremendously.
For some time now, our Nigerian friends have been coming to Ghana to buy our paddy to expand their farms. Nigeria has banned the importation of rice, so we should learn to eat what we grow. The situation changed because they now have a new administration, they’ve lifted the ban on the import of rice and other commodities.
This means that importers have flocked to the Nigerian market again. When you go to the ports of Lome, Benin, Cotonou and you see truckloads, so their market is inundated with cheaper rice from Vietnam and Thailand. Because of that, they had a very good harvest this year. They reached the 8 million metric ton mark.
