Farmers and agribusiness groups in the Northern Region have petitioned President John Mahama to urgently intervene in what they describe as a deepening crisis in the local grains sector.
They warn that the influx of cheap, smuggled rice and lack of market for locally produced rice, maize, and soya are threatening millions of livelihoods across the country.
The petition, jointly signed by the Committee for the Promotion of Ghana Rice, Maize and Soya Commodities, and endorsed by farmer-based organizations including the Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana (PFAG), the Chamber of Agribusiness Ghana, and the Ghana Rice Interprofessional Body (GRIB), warned that millions of farmers and agribusiness workers are in distress due to the lack of market for locally produced grains.
According to the petition, more than one million metric tons of paddy rice valued at about GHS 5 billion remain unsold nationwide, while major millers have suspended operations as cheap, smuggled rice floods the market. The group said the maize and soya sectors are facing similar challenges, with low prices, poor demand, and collapsing processing industries.
“We are facing an escalating crisis of lack of market for our produce. The situation is threatening to throw millions of Ghanaian women and youth out of jobs,” the petition read.
The farmers also accused the National Food Buffer Stock Company (NAFCO) of failing to fulfill its promise to buy excess produce to stabilize prices, saying no purchases have been made despite earlier assurances.
They urged the government to implement eight key measures to address the crisis, including a six-month moratorium on rice and maize imports, a clampdown on rice smuggling, the publication of NAFCO contracts, and a directive for all government institutions to procure Ghana rice.
Other demands include setting minimum farmgate prices, providing low-interest financing for millers, and lifting the ban on soya bean exports to create markets for farmers.
“We have done the hard work. What we now need is for the playing field to be levelled, and for Ghana’s policies to serve Ghanaian farmers first,” the petitioners said.
They emphasized that Ghana’s grain economy contributes about 20 percent of the national GDP and supports nine out of every ten rural families, adding that without swift government intervention, the livelihoods of millions could be destroyed.
The Northern Regional Minister Ali Adolf John, receiving the petition assured protesting farmers that the government will soon begin purchasing locally produced rice and other grains to address the current market crisis.
The Minister commended the farmers for their peaceful demonstration and for formally engaging his office before the protest.
He disclosed that following his meeting with the Minister of Agriculture in Accra last week, concrete steps were being taken to start buying both paddy and milled rice in the coming weeks.
“Our government is a listening government, and His Excellency President John Dramani Mahama, being a farmer himself, will not allow farmers’ hard work to go to waste,” the Minister assured.
He acknowledged that some administrative procedures had delayed the purchases but expressed optimism that farmers would soon begin receiving payments as part of efforts to prevent post-harvest losses.
The Minister emphasized that the government recognizes the Northern Region as the nation’s food basket and reaffirmed its commitment to supporting farmers to sustain production and livelihoods.
By Nadra Mohammed
