{"id":102497,"date":"2025-11-08T18:07:08","date_gmt":"2025-11-08T18:07:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=102497"},"modified":"2025-11-08T18:07:08","modified_gmt":"2025-11-08T18:07:08","slug":"govt-needs-gh%e2%82%b5500m-to-clear-rice-glut-in-northern-ghana-agric-minister","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=102497","title":{"rendered":"Gov\u2019t needs GH\u20b5500m to clear rice glut in northern Ghana \u2013 Agric Minister"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n \t<\/i> Read Time:<\/span>2 Minute, 0 Second <\/div>\n\n <\/div>
\n

The Ministry of Food and Agriculture says it needs at least GH\u20b5500 million to purchase excess rice stock from farmers in Ghana\u2019s five northern regions, warning that failure to act could discourage production and threaten food security.<\/p>\n

Speaking on JoyNews\u2019 Newsfile <\/em><\/strong>on Saturday, November 8, the Minister for Food and Agriculture, Eric Opoku, explained that the government had initially allocated GH\u20b5100 million as part of the 2025 budget to stabilize the rice market. However, the fund was quickly exhausted within 10\u201312 days.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was the first time the National Food Buffer Stock has been given the capacity to go into the market and mop up the excess. But within days, GH\u20b5100 million was exhausted,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The Minister revealed that technical assessments indicate that GH\u20b5500 million is required to fully address the surplus, noting that the government has already secured an additional GH\u20b5100 million facility while engaging private partners and international donors for further support.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the dangers is that if we don\u2019t clear the glut, our farmers will be discouraged, and going forward, they wouldn\u2019t have the interest to invest again in agriculture,\u201d he warned.<\/p>\n

\u201cGovernments have not failed the people of Ghana. The most important thing is that we have succeeded in our targeted investment to ensure production meets market needs. What is left is how we can contain the excess,\u201d he emphasised.<\/p>\n

Read also: Local rice glut: Gov\u2019t has not failed Ghanaians \u2013 Agric Minister<\/p>\n

He also highlighted ongoing efforts to direct local produce to institutional consumers such as schools, prisons, and the police, following presidential directives.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Ministry of Education has been directed by the President to ensure that all food served to students and inmates is sourced locally. This is part of the interventions to contain the situation and support farmers,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He addressed concerns about the pricing of rice purchased from farmers, noting that prices are set through a committee comprising government officials and representatives of farmers\u2019 associations.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is not an imposition from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture. It is a collective decision taken by all stakeholders,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The Minister said the government will announce concrete measures next Monday, November 10, at 4 pm to stabilize the rice market and prevent further losses to farmers, emphasizing that all decisions will be guided by data collected after the harvest.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n \n
\n \n \"Happy\"\n <\/a>\n
\n Happy <\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n \n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Sad\"\n <\/a>\n
\n Sad <\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Excited\"\n <\/a>\n
\n Excited <\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Sleepy\"\n <\/a>\n
\n Sleepy <\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n \n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Angry\"\n <\/a>\n
Angry<\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Surprise\"\n <\/a>\n
Surprise<\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\"Gov'tThe Ministry of Food and Agriculture says it needs at least \u20b5500 million to purchase excess rice stock from farmers in Ghana\u2019s five northern regions, warning that failure to act could discourage production and threaten food security.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12147,545,12130,12131,1883,10,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-102497","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-12147","category-eric-opoku","category-local-rice-glut","category-minister-for-food-and-agriculture","category-national","category-politics","category-popular"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102497","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=102497"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102497\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=102497"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=102497"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=102497"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}