The government has hinted of plans to establish a rice mill at Fumbisi in the Builsa South District of the Upper East Region taking advantage of the huge potentials in the area to boost local production

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Food Buffer Stock Company Limited, Alhaji Abdul-Wahab Hanan Aludiba who dropped the hint, revealed that there’s a huge potential of rice valleys that are yet to be tapped for which reason the government intends to develop the rest of the valleys and make it the biggest in the country.

The president indicated on his last visit to the area that the government will also establish an Agric Institute and promised to cut the importation of rice and will look up to developing the huge agricultural potential in Fumbisi.

"By deliberately strengthening institutions such as the National Food Buffer Stock Company which His Excellency asked me to head, you have had your excess paddy rice mopped up during the last cropping season and this benefitted the farmers here greatly”, he said during a meeting with traditional authorities in the area

“Government will continue to subsidize agro-inputs and ensure the lives of farmers are particularly improved”, CEO of National Food Buffer Stock Company Limited revealed

Alhaji Abdul-Wahab Hanan Aludiba who was in the area as part of a campaign tour of the northern sector to solicit the support of the chiefs and people to retain the presidency of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo enumerated various achievements of the current administration and indicated that more will come under the next term

The Chiefs and elders were very appreciative to government and singled out the Free SHS for praise indicating once the government is considering doing more for them with the promise of establishing a rice mill, they will reciprocate the gesture during the December 7 polls

The inability of rice farmers to mill their paddy rice, especially those in the Fumbisi Valley came up strongly late last year when the farmers appealed to the government to intervene by buying their rice for the School Feeding Programme to prevent losses.

Currently, there is no rice milling facility in the Upper East Region and the farmers believe that with the increased interest in rice farming in the region, there is the need to get a mill in the region.