By Ebi Kesiena
In a bid to assemble stakeholders to discuss issues confronting the country’s rice industry, Ghana Rice Inter-professional Body (GRIB) has launched the Ghana Rice Festival 2022.
The Ghana Rice Festival 2022, which will be held in Accra in November, this year seeks to amongst others put “Eat Ghana Rice” back on the minds of the people to help develop the industry and ease pressure on the country’s economy.
Nana Adjei Ayeh, National President of GRIB, who spoke during the launch of the festival at Botanga, a major rice growing area in the Kumbungu District of the Northern Region, reiterated the need for the citizenry to eat Ghana rice to save foreign exchange as well as save the currency (Cedi) from depreciation.
Nana Ayeh said as part of efforts to ensure more market for Ghana rice, GRIB was negotiating an arrangement with the country’s security agencies to buy only Ghana rice to feed their personnel expressing optimism that such an arrangement would soon be finalised for the benefit of rice farmers.
He noted the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on supply of fertilizer assuring rice farmers that GRIB had secured substantial quantities of fertilizer to supply to interested farmers to ensure that they continued to cultivate their fields.
He told them that “Remember that we are on a rescue mission to address the food insecurity situation, which is brought on by the Russia Ukraine situation.”
He assured rice farmers at Botanga that GRIB was working to supply them with an additional combined harvester to improve their operations especially harvesting of rice.
Madam Hawa Musah, Northern Regional Director of the Department of Agriculture, whose speech was read on her behalf during the launch, mentioned the various interventions being undertaken by the government to increase rice production in the country urging farmers to take advantage of them to boost their operations.
