Mr Duncan Reymond Amoah, the 2014 National Best Rice Farmer, has appealed to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to provide the needed protection to rice farmers at Jasikan and Afadzato South Districts.

He said if the Ministry do not take urgent measures of making water available for rice farmers in the area, 80 per cent of them would be out of business.

Mr Amoah made the plea in an interview with the Ghana News Agency at Jasikan in the Volta Region.

He said a first phase of a Rice Sector Support Project funded by Alliance Developmment de Francais of France was started in the region in 2009 to enhance rice farming.

He said the second phase began last year and instead of the project developing water valleys for rice farming, it has rather cleared the fertile soil and created huge canals that could not supply water to the farms.

“The situation has worsened our plight as we have to carry water to spray our farms and it is gradually pushing us out of business, hence our plea to the Ministry for an urgent intervention,” Mr Amoah said.