Ghana’s rice farmers are grappling with a worsening glut as large quantities of unsold stock from last year remain in storage — even as a new harvest season begins.
Vice Chair of the Competitive Africa Rice Platform, Dr. Ama Aning Oppong-Duah, revealed on JoyNews’ PM Express that many farmers are unable to sell their previous harvest while more rice continues to flood the market.
“We still have unsold rice from last year, and more is coming in,” she said, highlighting the growing challenge facing local producers.
According to Dr. Oppong-Duah, the crisis began last year when farmers produced at a time when the dollar was high, forcing them to purchase inputs such as fertiliser and seed at inflated prices. However, after harvesting, the Ghanaian cedi began to appreciate, making imported rice cheaper and pushing locally grown rice out of the market.
“When that happened, it became cheaper for people to bring in foreign rice. Farmers had already produced at a higher cost, and suddenly imported rice became more affordable,” she explained.
She further noted that the National Buffer Stock Company’s limited purchasing activity — due to a transition period under the new administration — worsened the problem.
“They weren’t buying as they were supposed to, so it created a murky situation for farmers,” she added.
The outcome has been devastating: tons of Ghanaian rice sitting idle in warehouses while traders and consumers opt for cheaper imports.
Despite these setbacks, farmers were encouraged to plant again this year following new government directives and access to inputs. Yet, the growing surplus poses another economic and logistical headache.
“We are now in the harvesting season, and the rice from last year is still sitting because we haven’t been able to sell — and there’s more rice coming in,” Dr. Oppong-Duah lamented.
The situation underscores the urgent need for stronger market linkages, sustainable pricing policies, and renewed government support to protect local farmers and promote Ghana’s rice self-sufficiency agenda.
source: myjoyonline
