Member of Parliament (MP) for Sanerigu, Alhaji A.B.A Fuseini, has called for a conscious effort to revamp the production of rice in the country.

He said the situation whereby the amount used in the importation of rice kept rising while local production of the commodity reduced was not the best.

Alhaji Fuseini stated that currently about $500 million is used by the country to import rice annually, explaining that such a colossal sum of money be used to finance development projects in the country.

Contributing to the debate for the approval of some ministerial nominees, Alhaji Fuseini said because rice had become a staple, the country cannot afford to depend on huge foreign import.

He explained that rice production could be used as a means to reduce the drifting of the youth from the northern parts of the country to the south in search of non-existent jobs.

Alhaji Fuseini said currently the Savanna Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) was doing a lot, but called for measures to reduce the cost of production to encourage the youth to venture into rice production.

He said it was unfortunate that tariffs imposed on imported rice was scrapped explaining that the decision gave foreign rice farmers the advantage over their local counterparts.

Alhaji Fuseini said efforts should be made to protect Ghanaian rice farmers to enable them to work hard to reduce importation of rice so that the huge amount used in such importations could be used for other purposes.

He stated that Ghanaian farmers also deserved protection which their counterpart in Europe and other continents were being accorded.