Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, the Minister of Food and Agriculture, has appealed to investors in Thailand to come and invest in Ghana’s rice sector, while touting the investment friendly environment in Ghana.

According to the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Ghana has huge potential for rice production which is evident in its favourable climatic conditions, availability of arable lands, and an open society with a vibrant democracy.

Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto asserted that Ghana can boast of about 40,000 hectares of land readily available to support large scale rice production, hence encouraged the Thai investors to take advantage of it and invest in the sector. In addition, he gave assurance to the delegation of the government of Ghana’s support for investors in the rice industry.

“Our rice production is seasonal, and, therefore, we want action targeted at planting rice in April, May June. We will make sure that land is made available to you.”
Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto

Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto noted that it is his ministry’s target to make Ghana self-sufficient in rice production, which has seen some significant gains. However, he added that more needed to be done to bridge the deficit. On this score, Dr. Akoto charged the Thai delegation to bring an action programme to his ministry for consideration.

Dr. Akoto asserted that the intervention by the private sector in the rice industry was very crucial, noting that it will help in the government’s vision of commercialising the commodity.

Dr Akoto made the appeal when a delegation of investors from Thailand, led by the executive chairman of the Jospong Group of Companies (JGC), Joseph Siaw Agyepong, and the honorary consul of Ghana in Thailand, Dr Sicha Singsomboon, paid a courtesy call on him at the ministry.

While commending Jospong Group of Companies for venturing into rice production, Dr Akoto maintained that he will continue to give Dr. Siaw Agyepong all the encouragement and support in his efforts to help the government address the food security challenge in the country.

Trade Minister Iterates Commitment to the Project

The delegation from Thailand also visited the Minister of Trade and Industry, Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen.

Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen, on his part, noted that the government is fully committed to ensuring the successful implementation of the Ghana-Thailand rice project. “Government is fully on board in terms of providing the enabling environment and policy framework for this project,” he said.

Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen also praised Jospong for venturing into rice production. The Trade Minister, therefore, is very confident that the project will be productive and inure to the mutual benefit of both Ghana and Thailand.

Meanwhile, Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen bemoaned the trade statistics between Ghana and Thailand, noting that it has not been encouraging. He thus, indicated that there is much that Ghana could learn from Thailand.

Rice is an important strategic crop in the economy of Ghana which is cultivated as both food and cash crop. Rice consumption continues to increase due to population growth, urbanization and change in consumer habits.

In the 2022 calendar year, imports of cereals are forecast at 1.5 million tonnes, well below the record level in 2021 and about 15 percent below the previous five‑year average.

Ghana currently consumes about 1.2million metric tonnes of rice yearly. As such, rice farmers are calling for government’s intervention to help them meet their target.

Early in 2022, the JGC commenced its integrated rice farming project. And in showing the seriousness JGC attached to the project, a team led by its chairman visited Thailand to understudy the Thai rice sector in order to replicate their experiences and strategy in Ghana.