The Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, has attributed Ghana’s inability to become self-reliant on rice production to 'sleeping on the job' despite having arable lands, water and favourable conditions.

According to him, although Ukraine is presently dealing with conflict-related issues with Russia, the nation is able to export about 74 million tons of grains.

“Since 2017, we’ve spent over a million dollars importing rice. What’s more embarrassing is that a country like Ukraine exports about 74 million tons of grains despite current conflicts, and you wonder why Ghana and Africa have fallen asleep,” he said.

He continued by saying that, it is heartbreaking for Ghana to import rice in excess of two billion dollars a year while the country is strategically positioned to grow its rice and become a net exporter.

Speaking to a delegation of Thailand rice investors led by Dr Joseph Siaw-Agyapong, CEO of the Jospong Group of Companies, Ken Ofori-Atta said it is wrong for Ghana to have arable land, water, and favourable weather for growing crops but to remain silent.

According to citinewsroom.com, the minister then expressed optimism about Thailand’s partnership with the private sector to commercialize rice production to cut imports in the next three years.

He furthered that, It’s the vision of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to use a well-capitalized development bank to push such initiatives.

“It’s actually quite criminal for the country to continue to import rice while we’re endowed with arable lands, water, and favourable weather conditions for growing crops to mitigate any possible food crisis,” he added.

Meanwhile, CEO of Jospong Group added that increasing yields in the rice industry require technical know-how and competence and therefore Ghana must attract investors with those qualifications.

AM/MA