Promoting local rice production.

By Bernard Yaw ASHIADEY

Like most economies, rice is an important staple in Ghana, and has become even more so due to the increasing per capita consumption. Indeed, rice is not only a common feature in Ghanaian diets, it is the second-largest cereal consumed after maize. Per capita rice consumption is already set to increase from 38kg currently to 63.0 kg in 2015.

Based on population growth rate alone, the current demand of over 500,000 tons of milled rice per year will increase to over 600,000 tons. Therefore, taking both population growth and increase in per capita consumption together, rice demand will increase to 1,68million tons in 2015.

But it is an unfortunate fact that out of the total amount of rice consumed in the country, only about 30% is produced locally and the rest imported from Asia and USA.

Why imported rice is favoured, according to consumers, is the fact that it is better perfumed, more appealing, better packaged and tastes nicer than the locally produced type – and this is despite the fact it costs more than local rice. Moreover, the output of local rice can be given to uncertainty because about 78% of production depends on rainfall, with just about 16% of the farms irrigated. This means that when the rains fail, such as last year in some areas in the North, production decreases.

But according to the Ghana Rice Inter-Professional Body (GRIB), an organisation made up of private sector stakeholders in the rice sector, not all hope is lost as local rice production increased by about 39.5 per cent per annum in the last four years -- recording paddy production of about 185,000 metric tons in 2007, 302,000 in 2008, 397,000 in 2009 and 492, 000 metric tons in 2010.

The statistics also show that rice importation reduced by about 18 per cent between 2007 and 2010, meaning even as demand grow local rice become more popular and attractive. The rise in rice production is attributed to various interventions by government and donor organisations working to promote the local rice sector.

GRIB believes that a long-term strategy that will cause an increase in local production involves setting up a Rice Development Fund. The fund is what GRIB believes will be the first step to addressing the needs of the sector. GRIB proposes that the government impose a 10% levy on imported rice, the revenue from which would be placed in a statutory dedicated fund.

The main purpose of the levy and fund will be for the development of rice infrastructure, research, and capacity building of actors along the rice value-chain, which will lead to increased incomes for value-chain actors. GRIB believes this will lead to increased production and reduction in importation and dependence on foreign rice. This will also increase the competitiveness of the rice sector.

The fund would have a governance structure comprising of government representatives and key stakeholders in the rice sector.

All stakeholders including members of GRIB, with the support of the Business Advocacy Challenge Fund and coalition members, have been urging government to pursue this noble cause for the rice sector.

GRIB believes that a cost-benefit analysis of the Rice Development Fund would show an immense opportunity for the Ghanaian economy in terms of economic growth, job-creation and poverty- reduction.

Currently, Ghana spends as much as US$450million annually on rice importation to satisfy local demand but according to the President of GRIB, Imoro Amoro, this huge amount of money could be injected into the development of the local rice sector to boost local production.

“All this money can be used to promote local production by increasing rice yields, introducing standard rice mills, improving parboiling techniques, providing storage facilities, drying patios or floors,” he said.

He reckons both the private sector and government can contribute efforts to improve domestic rice production. “Recent developments have been started in the north and Afram Plains and we believe that when these projects take off, local production will increase on the market. Also, we believe that when irrigation is enhanced, yields will definitely increase.”

FAO Representative in Ghana, Musa Saihou Mbenga, has echoed the thoughts of the President of GRIB.

“By limiting the importation of rice, the country will save money and invest in market development to increase productivity and expand growth. This is how most countries develop.”

“Ghana has the potential to meet local demand. There is the need to adopt pragmatic policies designed to move local production up. Government should encourage consumption of locally-produced rice by promoting the consumption of locally-produced foods,” he said.

Local rice cultivation plays a very important role in providing employment to about 10% of farming households. With an estimated total rice cropping area of 162,000 hectares in 2009 and an estimated average household holding of 0.4 hectares, we have an estimated 405,000 households involved in rice cultivation.

Among the different actors identified in the rice value-chain, a majority of them are smallholder producers and processors. Promoting the local rice industry will therefore enhance the output and income of smallholder farmers, processors and traders, thus reducing poverty and promoting national economic growth.

To double rice production to about 1.4 million metric tons per annum as projected in the Rice Sector Strategy, the sector would need the following interventions:

a. Large-scale community farmlands and infrastructural-development support

b. Partitioning of developed sites into block farm for both large-scale mechanised farming (that could serve as nucleus) and small- scale out-grower farmers.

c. The organisation of out-grower farmers into community-based cooperatives

d. Undertaking bulk imports of inputs to reduce unit cost at farm gates

e. Providing both nucleus farmers and out-growers with effective and regular capacity-building training in farm maintenance and management, bonding technologies and other best agronomic practices in rice production

f. Assisting research institutions to provide high-yielding, ecologically-tested and in- demand seed varieties to farmers under recoverable terms.

g. Expanding the installed milling capacity to allow for product flexibility and possible branding of milled Ghana rice.

h. Developing rice standards and a gazette of grades of both paddy and milled rice produced in Ghana.

The Zone 1 representative of GRIB, Godwin Atokple, who covers Avalavi, Afife, Aveyime and Torve in the Volta Region, believes that if the government is able to help out the Aveyime Rice project to reach its fullest capacity, plus exploring other areas that are suitable for rice production, Ghana would not have to import rice any longer.

Zone 9 representative of GRIB, Fuseini Salifu, who oversees some parts of the Northern Region including Tamale, Tolon-Kumbungu, Savelugu-Nanton, Nasia and Bontanga, is also of the view that if the challenges being faced by local producers are addressed then “definitely all Ghanaians can enjoy rice grown in Ghana.”