The President of the Ghana Rice lnterprofessional Body (GRIB), Nana Adjei Ayeh II has lauded efforts made for listing of rice contracts on the Ghana Commodity Exchange electronic trading platform, adding that this move will be of immense value to Ghanaian rice farmers.

Following the approval by the Security and Exchange Commission, Ghana Commodity Exchange (GCX) on December 15, 2020 added rice contracts to the initially listed agro-commodities on its electronic trading platform, bringing the total number of commodities traded to five. The initial listed commodities are maize, soya bean, sorghum and sesame contract. This move is expected to boost local rice production and consumption as the government continues with its plans to reduce the need for import and satisfy 100% of local demand by 2025 through its flagship program, Planting for Food and Jobs.

According to the President of Ghana Rice lnter-professional Body (GRIB), Nana Adjei Ayeh II, the listing of local rice on the exchange will not only ensure rice quality and guarantee timely payment to farmers, but will also provide a host of marketing opportunities.

“We know what trading through GCX guarantees for the farmer in terms of quality, transparency, and most importantly, timely payment. The addition of rice to the list of contracts traded on the GCX would increase marketing opportunities for rice farmers as well as address post-harvest loss issues and their lack of financing, which are key industry concerns,” Nana Adjei Ayeh II said.

Rice has become the most consumed food staple in the country after maize. The country’s annual rice import bill, which is about 50 percent of rice consumed, currently stands at about US$1 billion, which is mainly to complement the consumption gap left by domestic production. It is estimated that about 1.2 million metric tonnes of rice would be produced in the 2020/21 harvest year. However, just about 750,000 metric tonnes were produced during 2019 crop season.

Local rice farmers for years have struggled with several key challenges such as lack of access to credit facilities, poor infrastructures such as warehousing and unregulated pricing, and the general lack of effective policies to regulate the entire rice value chain. Aside the addition of rice to the list of contracts traded on the GCX, the GCX Warehouse Receipt Financing Scheme will also benefit rice farmers who can leverage their produce to obtain capital from banks at reasonable rates which can then be reinvested into their agribusiness ventures.

Ghana commodity Exchange is a marketplace where buyers and sellers of listed commodities undertake electronic trading under rules. The Exchange aims to standardise rice trading in Ghana with its grading system, to enable buyers and sellers appropriately judge the quality of the produce they trade. These innovations give farmers the chance to further enhance the value of their produce and make it a much more attractive option on both the local and international market.